White-tailed mongoose

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White-tailed mongoose

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Herpestidae
Genus: Ichneumia
I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1837
Species:
I. albicauda[1]
Binomial name
Ichneumia albicauda[1]
(G. Cuvier, 1829)
Subspecies
  • I. a. albicauda
  • I. a. dialeucos
  • I. a. grandis
  • I. a. haagneri
  • I. a. ibeanus
  • I. a. loandae
  • I. a. loempo
  range of the white-tailed mongoose

The white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda) is a species in the

only member of the genus Ichneumia.[3]

Taxonomy

Herpestes albicaudus was the

scientific name proposed by Georges Cuvier in 1829 for a mongoose specimen with a white tail from Senegal.[4] The genus name Ichneumia was coined by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1837.[5]

Characteristics

The white-tailed mongoose attains a weight range of 1.8 to 5.2 kg (4.0 to 11.5 lb), with an average of approximately 3.38 kg (7.5 lb), has a head-and-body length of 53 to 71 cm (21 to 28 in) and a tail length of 40 to 47 cm (16 to 19 in).

tibiofemoral joint, the legs are black. The base of the large, bushy tail is brownish yellow, and on its distal half, the tail is white. This appendage may comprise up to 40% of the creature's body length. This species lacks hair on its upper lip and on the forepaws. Females have four teats.[11]

Distribution and habitat

The white-tailed mongoose lives in most of Africa south of the Sahara, and the southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula.[2] It lives in a wide range of habitats, from semi-desert to savanna woodland, but avoid moist areas like the Congo River basin or extremely arid areas. It prefers areas of thick cover, such as the edges of forests and brushy streams.[11]

In the

Degua Tembien massif.[13]

Behaviour and ecology

The white-tailed mongoose is primarily

range, they forage separately. They are, for the most part, solitary creatures, with the male and female only coming together to mate. Reports of groups are either a breeding pair or a mother and her offspring. These mongooses do not migrate except to establish their own territory away from their mother's range.[11]

These mongooses are very vocal, and make an unusual barking sound that is associated with sexual behavior. If frightened, they will secrete a noxious substance from their anal glands. They do not stand on their hind feet for any length of time like other mongooses.[11]

Diet

The white-tailed mongoose feeds mostly on

mice, shrews, lizards, snakes, small birds are also eaten, along with the occasional fruits and berries. The eggs of birds are also eaten; they will break open the egg by throwing it between its hind legs against a rock or other hard object. They have been known to raid chicken houses in areas where domestic poultry is raised.[11]

Reproduction

Knowledge of the reproduction of the white tailed mongoose is incomplete. Litters are seen most frequently from February to May, and no young appear at all during the dry season from August to November, which suggests that they only breed once a year. The young are fully weaned at nine months of age, and around this time, the young disperse. It is speculated that sexual maturity is reached before two years of age, and that the gestation period is around 60 days.[11]

Etymology

The genus name, Ichneumia, is derived from the Greek ichneumon, which means 'tracker'. This name also happens to be the species and common name for the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon). The species name, albicauda, is derived from the Latin words albus, meaning 'white', and cauda, which means 'tail'.[11]

Local and indigenous names

In Tigrinya language, it is called ፂሒራ (tsihira).[13]

References

  1. OCLC 62265494
    .
  2. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T41620A45208640.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. OCLC 62265494
    .
  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. ^ Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I. (1837). "Notices sur deux nouveaux genres de Mammifères carnassiers, les Ichneumies, du continent Africain, et les Galidies de Madagascar". Annales des Sciences Naturelles. 2. 8: 249–252.
  6. ^
    ISBN 1890132446
    .
  7. ^
    S2CID 29215469
    .
  8. ^
    doi:10.1080/02541858.1984.11447899
    .
  9. ^ a b Egi, N. (2001). Body mass estimates in extinct mammals from limb bone dimensions: the case of North American hyaenodontids. Palaeontology, 44(3), 497-528.
  10. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1997.086-89086.x
    .
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Dewey, T. and N. Greene. 1999. Ichneumia albicauda at Animal Diversity Web. Accessed June 14, 2010.
  12. ^ Bauer, H., Mohammed, A. A.; El Faki, A.; Hiwytalla, K. O.; Bedin, E.; Rskay, G.; Sitotaw, E.; Sillero-Zubiri, C. (2018). "Antelopes of the Dinder-Alatash transboundary Protected Area, Sudan and Ethiopia" (PDF). Gnusletter. 35 (1): 26–30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2018-12-03.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^
    ISBN 9783030049546
    .

External links
Wikispecies has information related to Ichneumia.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ichneumia albicauda.
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