Marsh mongoose

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Water mongoose
)

Marsh mongoose

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Herpestidae
Subfamily:
Herpestinae
Genus: Atilax
Species:
A. paludinosus
Binomial name
Atilax paludinosus
G. Cuvier, 1829

The marsh mongoose (Atilax paludinosus), also called water mongoose

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008.[1]

Taxonomy

The

generic name Atilax was introduced in 1826 by Frédéric Cuvier.[3]
In 1829,
scientific name Herpestes paludinosus.[4]
It is the only extant member of the genus Atilax,[5] although an extinct ancestral species from the Early Pleistocene known as Atilax mesotes was also a member of the genus.[6]

Characteristics

The marsh mongoose's

nipples. Its feet have five flexible digits each with curved claws, but without any webbing. The soles of its feet are naked.[7]

Females measure 48.72 cm (19.18 in) in head-to-body length, and males 51.38 cm (20.23 in), with a 32.18–34.11 cm (12.67–13.43 in) long tail. In weight, adults range from 2.56 to 2.95 kg (5.6 to 6.5 lb). Both sexes have anal glands in a pouch that produce a musky smelling secretion.[8]

Female marsh mongooses have 36 chromosomes, and males 35, as one Y chromosome is translocated to an autosome.[9]

Distribution and habitat

The marsh mongoose occurs across much of sub-Saharan Africa from

Eastern and parts of Southern Africa.[1]
It inhabits freshwater
brackish-water habitats in coastal areas.[7]
It was likely introduced by humans to Pemba Island in the Zanzibar Archipelago.[10]

In Guinea's National Park of Upper Niger, it was recorded during surveys conducted in 1996 to 1997.[11] In Gabon's Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, it was recorded only in forested habitats during a two-months survey in 2012.[12]

In the Ethiopian Highlands, it was recorded at an elevation of 3,950 m (12,960 ft) in Bale Mountains National Park.[13]

Behaviour and ecology

The marsh mongoose is primarily a solitary species.[2] It is an excellent swimmer and can dive for up to 15 seconds, using its feet to paddle. On land, it usually trots slowly, but can also move fast.[14]

crepuscular activity pattern.[15]
A radio-collared male marsh mongoose in

Feeding behaviour and diet

Feeding behaviour of eight captive marsh mongooses was studied in 1984. When the mongooses sighted prey in the water, they swam or walked towards it, used their digits to seek it out, but kept their heads above water. Once located, they grabbed it with the mouth and killed it outside the water. They killed rodents and frogs by biting them in the head, and occasionally also shook them. When finished eating, they wiped their mouths with the forefeet. They broke eggs by throwing them backwards between the legs.[2] Scat of marsh mongooses collected around

mudcrabs (Scylla serrata) ashore. They removed the chelipeds and opened the sternum to feed on the body contents.[17]
They deposit scat at specific
sandhoppers, shore crab (Cyclograpsus punctatus), pink-lipped topshell (Oxystele sinensis) and Tropidophora snails.[18]
Research in southeastern
snails and slugs, Bivalvia, Decapoda as well as fruits, berries and seeds.[19]

Reproduction

After a gestation of 69 to 80 days, females give birth to a litter of two to three young, which are fully furred. Their eyes open between the 9th and 14th day, pupils are bluish at first and change to brown at the age of three weeks. Their ear canal opens between the 17th and 28th day. Females start weaning their offspring earliest on the 30th day, and young are fully weaned by the age of two months.[20]

Threats

In 2006, it was estimated that about 950 marsh mongooses are hunted annually in the Cameroon part of the Cross–Sanaga–Bioko coastal forests.[21]

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Baker, C. M. (1989). "Feeding habits of the water mongoose (Atilax paludinosus)" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 54 (1): 31–39.
  3. ^ Cuvier, F. G. (1826). "Vansire". In E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire; F. G. Cuvier (eds.). Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères : avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'aprèsdes animaux vivans. Tome 5. Paris: A. Belin. p. LIV.
  4. ^ Cuvier, G. (1829). "Les Mangoustes. Cuv. (Herpestes, Illiger)". Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Paris: Chez Déterville. pp. 157–158.
  5. OCLC 62265494
    .
  6. ^ Brain, C.K. (1983). The Hunters Or the Hunted? An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy. University of Chicago Press. p. 166.
  7. ^ .
  8. JSTOR 3504291. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  9. .
  10. .
  11. .
  12. .
  13. .
  14. .
  15. .
  16. .
  17. .
  18. ^ Louw, C. J.; Nel, J. A. J. (1986). "Diets of coastal and inland-dwelling water mongoose" (PDF). South African Journal of Wildlife Research. 16 (4): 153–156.
  19. S2CID 55589137. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  20. ^ Baker, C. M.; Meester, J. (1986). "Postnatal physical development of the Water mongoose (Atilax paludinosus)" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 51 (4): 236–243.
  21. .

External links