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Herpestidae Mongooses

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Higher taxa:  Life   Vertebrata   Mammalia   IDnature guides: Groups_Vertebrata, Mammalia_species, North_American_Invasives We parsed the following live from the Web into this page. Such content is managed by its original site and not cached on Discover Life. Please send feedback and corrections directly to the source. See original regarding copyrights and terms of use. Image, Herpestes vitticollis, Animal Diversity Web Animal Diversity Web

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Atilax Bdeogale Crossarchus Cynictis Dologale Galerella Galidia Galidictis Helogale Herpestes Ichneumia Liberiictis Mungos Mungotictis Paracynictis Rhynchogale Salanoia Suricata

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Overview  News  Technology  Conditions of Use  Privacy Policy  Partners & Contributors  Awards & Recognition  ADW Staff  Contact Us  Spinning Skulls  About Mammals  Frog Calls  Resources for College Instructors  Resources for K-12 Instructors  Contribute to ADW  What's in a Scientific Name?  Authority Lists: Where We Get Our Names  Name, Rank, and Serial Number  Organismal classification: evolutionary relationships & ranks  Glossary  Search Guide  Related Links  Contact Us  Report an Error Structured Inquiry Search — preview Home Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Class Mammalia Order Carnivora Suborder Feliformia Family Herpestidae Family Herpestidae mongooses Information Pictures Specimens Classification 2010/02/07 03:06:54.057 US/Eastern By Phil Myers Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Feliformia Family: Herpestidae Members of this Family Mongooses are mainly African, with one genus also widespread in Asia and southern Europe (and it has been widely introduced elsewhere). Several genera are restricted to Madagascar; these are placed in their own subfamily, Galidiinae. Overall, 34 species are found in about 20 genera. Mongooses are small carnivores. Their body lengths vary from around 230 mm to over 750 mm, and their weights range from less than 1 kg to around 5 or 6 kg. Most are brown or gray. A few species are striped, but most are not. A very few species have banded tails. The claws are not retractile. Herpestids tend to have small heads, pointed snouts, and short, rounded ears that are not as conspicuously erect or pointed as those of viverrids. Many have anal (not perianal, as in viverrids ) glands that secrete a foul-smelling substance. Male herpestids have a baculum. The skull of most herpestids is long and flattened. One pair of lower incisors appears to be slightly out of (raised above) the line defined by the incisor row. The carnassials are well developed. The last upper molar is not constricted in the middle. The dental formula is 3/3, 1/1, 3-4/3-4, 1-2/1-2 = 32-40. In the auditory bullae , the demarcation between ectotympanic and entotympanic parts of the bullae is clear, and in this family it is perpendicular to the long axis of the skull (it is oblique to that axis in members of the family Viverridae). The ectotympanic part of the bullae is approximately equal in size to the entotympanic part, or larger. A median lacerate foramen is present. Most herpestids are predators, feeding on a wide range of animals including small mammals and birds (including bird eggs), reptiles (especially snakes), a wide variety of insects, and crabs. Their ability to kill poisonous snakes such as cobras and adders is legendary. Their success is due to speed and agility, for they are not immune to the snake's poison. Some species also include vegetable material in their diets, feeding on tubers, fruits, and berries. Some herpestids are gregarious, occurring in colonies that sometimes include more than 50 individuals. Others are solitary. Most species are terrestrial, often making complex burrow systems, but a few include arboreal habitats in their foraging. Herpestids are found in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from desert to tropical forest. Some species are semiaquatic, readily entering the water to feed on fish, crabs and other aquatic organisms. Mongooses have been introduced to a number of places, usually to help control snakes and rodent pests. Unfortunately, this has rarely, if ever worked, and the the introduced mongooses have generally been a worse problem than the creatures they were introduced to control. Technical characters Literature and references cited Feldhamer, G. A., L. C. Drickamer, S. H. Vessey, and J. F. Merritt. 1999. Mammalogy. Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. WCB McGraw-Hill, Boston. xii+563pp. Paradiso, J. L. 1975. Walker's Mammals of the World, Third Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Savage, R. J. G. and M. R. Long. 1986. Mammal Evolution, an Illustrated Guide. Facts of File Publications, New York. 259 pp. Stains, H. J. 1984. Carnivores. Pp. 491-521 in Anderson, S. and J. K. Jones, Jr. (eds). Orders and Families of Recent Mammals of the World. John Wiley and Sons, N.Y. xii+686 pp. Vaughan, T. A. 1986. Mammalogy. Third Edition. Saunders College Publishing, Fort Worth. vii+576 pp. Vaughan, T. A., J. M. Ryan, N. J. Czaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy. Fourth Edition. Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia. vii+565pp. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder. 1993. Mammal Species of the World, A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 2nd edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington. xviii+1206 pp. Contributors Phil Myers (author), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. 2010/02/07 03:06:54.274 US/Eastern To cite this page: Myers, P. 2000. "Herpestidae" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 09, 2010 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Herpestidae.html. Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control. Other formats: OWL Home   ¦   About Us   ¦   Special Topics   ¦   Teaching   ¦   About Animal Names   ¦   Help Structured Inquiry Search — preview Sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative, the Homeland Foundation and the University of Michigan   Museum of Zoology . This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151. The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support. Report Error — Comment ©1995-2008, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors. All rights reserved.