Giemsa-banding and the identification of the Y/autosome translocation in the african marsh mongoose, Atilax paludinosus (Carnivora, Viverridae).

The diploid chromosome number of 35 in the male and 36 in the female African marsh mongoose, Atilax paludinosus, has been confirmed. C- and G-banding analyses have shown that the Y chromosome is probably translocated onto the proximal end of the acrocentric partner of a heteromorphic autosomal pair (C3). The other partner is a subtelocentric with a heterochromatic short arm. During the translocation process, this short arm was removed and presumably lost. The sex determining mechanism in Atilax could be written as XX in the female and XYA-A in the male.