What is "viverra"

Viverra \Vi*ver"ra\ (v[i^]*v[e^]r"r[.a]), prop. n. [L., a ferret.] (Zo["o]l.) A genus of carnivores which comprises the civets.

Viverra is a mammalian genus that was first nominated and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 as comprising several species including the large Indian civet. The genus was subordinated to the viverrid family by John Edward Gray in 1821.