Galictis

A grison is any mustelid in the genus Galictis. Native to Central and South America, the genus contains two extant species: the greater grison (Galictis vittata), which is found widely in South America, through Central America to southern Mexico; and the lesser grison (Galictis cuja), which is restricted to the southern half of South America.

Names
The generic name Galictis joins two Greek words: galē (γαλῆ, "weasel") and iktis (ἴκτις, marten/weasel). Compare the word Galidictis (a mongoose genus).

The common name  is from a French word for "gray", a variant of, also meaning "gray".

Locally, in Spanish, it is referred to as a huroncito (literally "little ferret") or grisón. In Portuguese, it is a furão.

Description
Grisons measure up to 60 cm in length, and weigh between 1 and 3 kg. The lesser grison is slightly smaller than the greater grison. Grisons generally resemble a honey badger, but with a smaller, thinner body. The pelage along the back is a frosted gray with black legs, throat, face, and belly. A sharp white stripe extends from the forehead to the back of the neck.

Habitat
They are found in a wide range of habitats from semi-open shrub and woodland to low-elevation forests. They are generally terrestrial, burrowing and nesting in holes in fallen trees or rock crevices, often living underground. They are omnivorous, consuming fruit and small animals (including mammals). Little is known about grison behavior for multiple reasons, including that their necks are so wide compared to their heads, an unusual difficulty that has made radio tracking problematic.

Fossils
Grisons first appeared in South America during the early Pleistocene about 2.5 million years ago. They may be descended from the fossil genera Trigonictis and Sminthosinus, which lived in North America during the mid to late Pliocene. There are at least three known fossil species, all of which were found in Argentina:


 * † Galictis hennigi
 * † Galictis sanandresensis
 * † Galictis sorgentinii