Herpestes vitticollis, Illiger, 1811

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Herpestidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 262-328 : 312

12.

Stripe-necked Mongoose

Herpestes vitticollis

French: Mangouste a cou rayé / German: Halsstreifenmungo / Spanish: Meloncillo indio

Taxonomy. Herpestes uvitticollis Bennett, 1835 ,

Travancore, South India.

Two subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

H. v. vitticollis Bennett, 1835 — SW India and Sri Lanka.

H. v. inornatus Pocock, 1941 — W India (Karnatka).

Descriptive notes. Mean measurements for Sri Lanka: head-body 48-9 cm (males), 46-4 cm (females), tail 32-5 cm (males), 30-4 cm (females); weight up to 3-1 kg (males), up to 1-7 kg (females). Mean measurements for India: head-body 52: 9 cm (males), 47-4 cm (females), tail 31-5 cm (males), 29-7 cm (females); weight up to 3-4 kg (males), up to 2: 7 kg (females). A large mongoose, with long guard hairs and a neck stripe. The head is iron-gray to purplish-brown, finely speckled with yellow, darkest on the forehead and paler on the sides. The front part of the body is reddish-yellow, grizzled with brown; the rear part is orange-red and lightly grizzled. A black band runs from behind the ears along the sides of the neck to the shoulders. The ears are rounded and covered with short,fine, reddish-brown hairs. The chin and throat are the same color as the cheeks, but are less grizzled. The undersurface of the neck and chest are brownish-yellow and the belly is orange-yellow, but is not abruptly defined from the color of the chest. The underfur is sparse and pale yellow-brown. The dorsal hairs are 50-60 mm long. The hairs on the sides are greater than 60 mm long; they are banded with black and gray, and end in long orange-red tips. The general color of the tail is orange-red except for the 9cm-long black tip; the hairs at the base of the tail are about 8 cm long, but decrease in length towards the tip. The forelegs, front of the hindlegs, and tarsus are dark purplish-brown. There are five toes on the foreand hindfeet. The skull is large, has a flattened and expanded frontal region, a narrow long muzzle, powerful teeth, and an auditory bulla with a pronounced projection of the posterior chamber. Dental formula: 13/3,C1/1,P4/4,M 2/2 = 40.

Habitat. Evergreen and deciduous forest. Seen in swampy clearings and along watercourses, and also in plantations and open scrub. In Sri Lanka, its distribution may encompass lowland dry forest; it is rarely sighted in disturbed areas or close to human settlements. Recorded up to 2133 m.

Food and Feeding. The dietis reported to include small mammals, birds, birds’ eggs, reptiles, insects, and roots. It has also been suggested that crabs, frogs, and fish may be part of the diet, due to its habit of hunting by the banks of rivers and frequenting swamps and flooded rice fields. This species has been observed scavenging on Sambar (Rusa unicolor) and Indian Hare (Lepus nigricollis), and seen foraging in soft, damp soil and swamps.

Activity patterns. Appears to be mainly diurnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Usually solitary, but also seen in pairs.

Breeding. Litter size may be two or three. On Sri Lanka, a female was observed in May suckling three young on a dry patch of earth, under an overhanging mass of rocks.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix III ( India). Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. This species is hunted for meat and for its fur, but the chief threat may be habitat loss. In India, it is rare in the northern part of its range, and most abundant in southern Kerala, the Nilghiri and Palni plateaus, the High Wavy Mountains, and in the Anamalai Hills. In Sri Lanka,is fairly common in the higher hills of the Central Highlands, but seems to be declining. The species is not uncommon in the low-country along the banks of the Menik Ganga (Sri Lanka’s Dry Zone), and is present, but not common, in the Kalutara District (Western Province). May be particularly vulnerable due to its restricted distribution. Field surveys, ecological studies, and assessments of threats are urgently needed.

Bibliography. Hinton & Dunn (1967), IUCN (2008), Madhusudan (1995), Pocock (1941a), Prater (1980), Van Rompaey & Jayakumar (2003), Wozencraft (2005), Yoganand & Kumar (1995).

Figures

1. Marsh Mongoose (Atilax paludinosus), 2. Long-nosed Mongoose (Xenogale naso), 3. Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), 4. Short-tailed Mongoose (Herpestes brachyurus), 5. Indian Gray Mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii), 6. Indian Brown Mongoose (Herpestes fuscus), 7. Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), 8. Javan Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus), 9. Collared Mongoose (Herpestes semitorquatus), 10. Ruddy Mongoose (Herpestes smith), 11. Crab-eating Mongoose (Herpestes urva), 12. Stripe-necked Mongoose (Herpestes vitticollis)

Subspecies and Distribution. H. v. vitticollis Bennett, 1835 — SW India and Sri Lanka . H. v. inornatus Pocock, 1941 — W India (Karnatka).