DNA analysis based on 29 species of Carnivora, comprising 13 species of Viverrinae and three species representing "Paradoxurus", "Paguma" and Hemigalinae, confirmed Pocock's assumption that the African linsang "Poiana" represents the sister-group of the genus "Genetta". The placement of "Prionodon" as the sister-group of the family Felidae is strongly supported, and it was proposed that the Asiatic linsangs be placed in the monogeneric family Prionodontidae. There is a physical synapomorphy shared between felids and "Prionodon" in the presence of the specialized fused sacral vertebrae.