Paracynictis selousi, Pocock, 1916

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Herpestidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 262-328 : 318

19.

Selous’s Mongoose

Paracynictis selousi

French: Mangouste de Selous / German: Trugmanguste / Spanish: Mangosta de Selous

Taxonomy. Cynictis seloust de Winton, 1896 ,

Essex Vale, Matabeleland, near Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Four subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

P. s. selousi de Winton, 1896 — W Mozambique, NE South Africa (Limpopo & Mpumalanga Provinces), and Zimbabwe.

P. s. bechuanae Roberts, 1932 — E Botswana.

P. s. ngamiensis Roberts, 1932 — Angola, Zambia, Malawi, N Namibia, and N Botswana.

P.s. sengaani Roberts, 1931 — S Mozambique and South Africa (NE KwaZulu-Natal).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 39-47 cm, tail 28-43. 5 cm, hindfoot 10.3-12. 4 cm, ear 3.9-5 cm; weight 1.4-2. 2 kg. A small mongoose with a grizzled gray coat, black feet, and a white-tipped tail. The upperparts are grayish to tawny-gray; the coat is grizzled, with white rings on the guard hairs. The underparts are also gray to tawny-gray, but paler than the upperparts. The underfuris thick; the hairs are dark at the base and buffy to buffy-gray at the tip. The soft guard hairs are short on the head (15 mm) and increase in length toward the rump (40 mm); on the tail they are shorter at the base (50 mm) and are longer toward the tip (up to 10 cm). The tail is white for a short section towards the tip and is about 40% of the total body length. The muzzle is pointed, with a small rhinarium that has a small medium depression in front; the groove continues downwards to divide the upper lip. The ears are large and are partially covered in front by long hairs. The upperparts of the limbs are black or dark brown. There are four digits on each foot. The claws on the forefeet are slightly curved and about 8-10 mm long; on the hindfeet they are straight. The soles of the feet are hairy. There are three pairs ofteats (although a specimen with two pairs has been reported). The skull is elongated; the braincase is ovoid and narrows slightly to the inter-orbital constriction. The post-orbital bar is complete and the rostrum is short and broad. The supra-occipital crests are well-developed and are up to 5-6 mm in height. The sagittal crest is present, but not well-developed. The zygomatic width is half the length of the skull. The auditory bullae are large; the two chambers are of equal size. The coronoid process of the lowerjaw is not very high. Dental formula: 13/3, C1/1,P 4/4, M 2/2 = 40. The upper canines are short, rounded and slightly recurved; the lower are strongly recurved. The first premolars are small and not always present. The cusps of the upper carnassials are well-developed. The cusps on the trigonid of the lower carnassial are high.

Habitat. Savannah grassland and woodland; absent from forest, desert, and semidesert. Found in Acacia scrub and woodland (with a sandy substrate), open habitats (on cultivated land or where bush clearing has taken place), and on floodplains and grasslands (with short grass and scanty cover). Not dependent on the availability of water and is known from areas with a mean annual rainfall of 400 to 1000 mm.

Food and Feeding. The dietis reported to include insects, mice, reptiles, amphibians, and eggs. The analysis of 51 stomach contents from Botswana and Zimbabwe showed that insects had the highest percentage occurrence, including 43% Orthoptera (mainly grasshoppers and crickets), 43% Isoptera (termites, including Hodotermes mossambicus and Macrotermes falciger), 37% Coleoptera adults (dung beetles Scarabaeidae , ground beetles Carabidae, weevils Curculionidae, water beetles Dysticidae, and click beetles Elateridae ), 27% Coleoptera larvae (including ground beetles Tenebrionidae, dung beetles Scarabaeidae , and click beetles Elateridae ), 10% Lepidoptera (Pieridae butterflies, Noctuidae moths, caterpillars of hawk moths Sphingidae, lace wings Neuroptera, and Formicidae ). Other food items were: 22% hunting spiders (Solifugidae, notably Solpuga monteiroi), 18% scorpions (Opisthophthalmus wahlbergi and Parabuthus granulatus), 8% Aranea, and 8% Myriapods (Scolopendra morsitans). Among the vertebrates eaten were: 16% Muridae (Common African Fat Mouse Steatomys pratensis and the Climbing Mouse Dendromus sp.), 14% reptiles (the Cape gecko Pachydactylus capensis, the spiny agama Agama hispida, Wahlberg's snake-eyed skink Panaspis wahlbergi, the ornate sandveld lizard Nucras taeniolata, the striped skink Mabuya striata, the shield-nose snake Aspidelaps scutatus, Peters’ thread snake Leptotyphlops scutifrons, the Cape wolf snake Lycophidion capense, and Bibron’s burrowing asp Atractaspis bibronii), 8% amphibians (toads Bufo sp., Delalande’s burrowing frog Tomopterna delalandii, and Bocage’s burrowing frog Leptopelis bocagii), and 4% birds (remains of eggs). Selous’s Mongooses are avid diggers and excavate for beetle larvae among litter or at the bases of tufts of grass. They move with the head low and nostrils close to the ground, which suggests that they locate their prey by smell. It is believed that they have good hearing, which may assist them in locating subterranean food.

Activity patterns. Reported to be nocturnal. During the day they rest in burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Normally solitary, although sometimes recorded in pairs. They excavate burrows in sandy ground. Burrows may have one or two entrances, which are often under the shelter of a low bush, but at other times are out in the open. In Kwazulu-Natal, a burrow had passages and chambers down to a depth of 1-5 m. Under stress, Selous’s Mongooses may go into any available hole and have been observed entering South African Spring Hare and Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) burrows. They can rise on their legs and hold their head high to look for danger.

Breeding. Births may occur in the warm wet months, from August to March, and litter size appears to be up to four. Pregnant females with three and four fetuses have been reported in Botswana in February and September, and during August in Zimbabwe. Two juveniles weighing 450 g were found in December and January; another juvenile weighing 900 g was found in February. In Namibia, a pregnant female was captured in October.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. Appears to be uncommon across its range, but its habitat is not considered to be vulnerable and there are thought to be no major threats to this species. Field surveys and ecological studies are needed.

Bibliography. Kingdon (1997), Nowak (1999), Skinner & Chimimba (2005), Stuart & Stuart (In press b), Wozencraft (2005).

Figures

On following pages: 15. Somalian Slender Mongoose (Galerella ochracea); 16. Cape Gray Mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta); 17. Common Slender Mongoose (Galerella sanguinea); 18. White-tailed Mongoose (/chneumia albicauda); 19. Selous's Mongoose (Paracynictis selous)); 20. Bushy-tailed Mongoose (Bdeogale crassicauda); 21. Jackson's Mongoose (Bdeogale jackson); 22. Black-footed Mongoose (Bdeogale nigripes); 23. Meller’s Mongoose (Rhynchogale melleri).

Subspecies and Distribution. P. s. selousi de Winton, 1896 — W Mozambique , NE South Africa (Limpopo & Mpumalanga Provinces), and Zimbabwe . P. s. bechuanae Roberts, 1932 — E Botswana . P. s. ngamiensis Roberts, 1932 — Angola , Zambia , Malawi , N Namibia , and N Botswana . P.s. sengaani Roberts, 1931 — S Mozambique and South Africa (NE KwaZulu-Natal).