#0119 · 🦊 mammals
Northern Small-spotted Genet
🇳🇱 Gewone Genetkat ·Genetta genetta
9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
The common genet ( Genetta genetta ) is a small viverrid indigenous to Africa that was introduced to southwestern Europe and the Balearic Islands. It is widely distributed north of the Sahara, in savanna zones south of the Sahara to southern Africa and along the coast of Arabia, Yemen and Oman. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 2,887 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs only about 70 g.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Northern Small-spotted Genet
- Nederlands
- Gewone Genetkat
- scientific name
- Genetta genetta
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Carnivora
- family
- Viverridae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings in Europe
- 1,741
- sightings worldwide
- 2,887
- GBIF records in NL
- 3
- weight
- 70 g
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Viverridae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 925661, Wikidata Q261574, GBIF 5219362, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.