Atilax paludinosus, 1826

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Herpestidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 262-328 : 307

1.

Marsh Mongoose

Atilax paludinosus

French: Mangouste des marais / German: Sumpfmanguste / Spanish: Mangosta negra

Other common names: Water Mongoose

Taxonomy. Herpestes paludinosus Cuvier, 1829 ,

Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.

Ten subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and distribution.

A. p. paludinosus Cuvier, 1829 — S South Africa.

A. p. macrodon JA. Allen, 1924 — Central African Republic through Congo republics to Rwanda and Burundi.

A. p. mutis Thomas, 1902 — Ethiopia.

A. p. mordax Thomas, 1912 — S Tanzania.

A. p. pluto Temminck, 1853 — Senegal to Nigeria.

A. p. robustus Gray, 1865 — Chad and Sudan.

A. p. rubellus Thomas & Wroughton, 1908 — Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

A. p. rubescens Hollister, 1912 — N Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

A. p. spadiceus Cabrera, 1921 — Cameroon to Gabon.

A. p. transvaalensis Roberts, 1933 — N South Africa to Angola and Zambia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 51: 4 cm (males), 48-7 cm (females), tail 31-41 cm (males), 33-40 cm (females), hindfoot 11-11. 5 cm (males), 10.7-11. 8 cm (females), ear 3.4-5 cm (males), 3.2-3. 7 cm (females); weight 2.9-4 kg (males), 2:4—4-1 kg (females). Females are slightly smaller than males. The pelage is shaggy, grizzled dark reddish-brown to black, with white, red, or russet annulations on the guard hairs. The guard hairs are 3.2-5 cm long, longest at the rump; the underfur is 1.5-2. 5 cm long. Relatively broad head, small eyes with horizontal pupils, and broad, round ears. Hair long and thick in front of ears, protecting inner ear from water, but short around the mouth. A slit down the black rhinarium divides upper lip. Relatively long body with short legs. Tail approximately 66% of head-body length. The five-toes on each foot are unwebbed, enabling toes to spread. Feet have soft, naked pads and short, curved, non-retractible claws. Longest foreclaw about 11 mm. Hindfoot claws shorter and less curved. Plantar surfaces naked. There are two to three pairs of mammae. Convex baculum in male (c. 18 mm in adults). Cheek glands present. Broad skull: zygomatic breadth less than 50% condylobasal length. Supraoccipital crest is flange-like and meets well-developed sagittal crest (up to 4 mm high) to form T-shape. Brain case pear-shaped. Marked post-orbital constriction. Eye sockets small relative to skull length (20% of condylobasal length). Relatively short rostrum. Broad lowerjaw. Posterior ear bullae more prominent than anterior. Dental formula: 1 3/3, C 1/1, P 3-4/3-4, M 2/2 = 36-40. Upper jaw incisors larger than lower, outer incisors larger than inner for both jaws. Carnassials adapted to crushing rather than slicing. Heavy canines, upper possess blade-like processes on front and back, lower curved. Sharp canines and stout premolars and carnassials adapted to crushing shellfish.

Habitat. Coincident with riparian habitats, such as swampy and streambed areas. In Dzanga-Sangha forest, Central African Republic,restricted to swamp forest adjacent to streams. Also occurs in estuarine and marine habitats, as well as freshwater areas. Ranges farther from watercourses during dry periods. Found from sea level up to 2500 m.

Food and Feeding. Opportunistic, with diet dependent upon prey availability. Marsh Mongooses are sympatric with Spotted-necked and African Clawless otters and there is some overlap in diet, but this species is less dependent upon aquatic prey. Prey composition differs between areas. In South Africa, the most frequent food types eaten varied across seven regions, but overall the frequency of prey types (as percentage composition in scats) was: Crustacea (23%), Insecta (17%), Mammalia (13%), Amphibia (9%), Mollusca (8%), and Aves (8%). In Zimbabwe, food types (as percentage of stomach contents) were: Amphibia (29%), Crustacea (24%), Mammalia (24%), Insecta (19%), and Pisces (5%). In the Central African Republic, the most abundant prey types (as frequency of occurrence in scats) from a rainforest study were: Coleoptera (86%), Amphibia (82%), Orthoptera (74%), and Crustacea (67%). Marsh Mongooses forage alongside or in shallow water. They are excellent swimmers, but do not swim readily. They reach into cracks, mud, and rocks with their forelimbs to search for prey, and stand up and use their forelimbs to throw hard-shelled prey items, e.g. crabs or mussels, downwards against rocks. Some prey, e.g. crabs, snakes, and large rodents, are seized in the jaws and flicked sideways prior to being given a killing bite. Small crabs are eaten whole; larger crabs are turned upside down, the foreclaws are bitten off, the meat eaten, and the carapace discarded. Upturned carapaces on riversides indicate the presence of Atilax (otters normally crunch up the crab carapace). Marsh Mongooses are extremely dexterous compared to other herpestids. They occasionally prey on poultry.

Activity patterns. Crepuscular and nocturnal. Two studies, both in Natal ( South Africa), produced conflicting results: one found them to forage mostly in the early morning and late afternoon, whereas the other (using telemetry) found them to be nocturnal. A telemetry study in Central African Republic found males to be crepuscular. Day beds are located on relatively high areas surrounded by deep mud or water.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Solitary, although occasionally two are seen together. Home range sizes are generally linear in shape, due to fidelity to watercourses. One radio-collared adult male in the Central African Republic travelled up and down a stream around 5 km in length; its home range was estimated at 54 ha. In South Africa, the home range of a male was 131 ha and that of a female was 204 ha. The Central African Republic study showed that the male could spend up to seven days without visiting the edges ofhis territory, and documented a mean traveling speed of 21-4 m/s. Marsh Mongooses defaecate in latrines in exposed, open areas alongside streams. They may be territorial, communicating with conspecifics through sound, scent marking (with urine and anal and cheek glands), and with behavioral displays. Scats and anal gland secretions may be used in individual discrimination among adults; the response to marks made by the same and the opposite sex differ. May eject strong-smelling anal fluid when stressed. A variety of vocalizations have been noted, including bark-growl threats, excitement bleats, and moan/bleat vocalizations (which may fulfill a contact role).

Breeding. In southern Africa, breeding is seasonal and occurs in the summer. Mating takes place from as early as August through to February. There is no evidence of a breeding season in West Africa. In captivity, estrus lasts approximately nine days, gestation is 69-80 days, litter size is two to three (mean ofsix litters: 2-5), and birth weight ranges from 78-125 g. Sex ratio at birth is unbiased. The young are born blind and softly furred (black). The eyes open at 9-14 days, and the young are weaned at 30-60 days. Two females in the wild carried one and two fetuses. Longevity in captivity is just over 19 years.

Status and Conservation. Not CITES listed. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. Pesticides have been found in scats, but not at dangerous concentrations. Widespread and relatively common and therefore unlikely to become threatened in the near future. However, continued destruction and conversion of swamplands to arable land is a concern. Also commonly occurs as bushmeat.

Bibliography. Angelici (2000), Avenant & Nel (1997), Baker (1988a, 1988b, 1988c, 1989, 1992a, 1992b, 1998), Baker & Meester (1986), Baker & Ray (In press), Estes (1991), Kingdon (1971-1982, 1997), Louw & Nel (1986), Maddock & Perrin (1993), Markotter et al. (2006), Mason & Rowe-Rowe (1992), Nowak (1999), Purves et al. (1994), Ray (1997), Ray & Sunquist (2001), Rowe-Rowe (1978a), Rowe-Rowe & Somers (1998), Skinner & Chimimba (2005), Somers & Purves (1996), Whitfield & Blaber (1980), Wozencraft (2005).

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. A. p. paludinosus Cuvier, 1829 — S South Africa . A. p. macrodon JA. Allen, 1924 — Central African Republic through Congo republics to Rwanda and Burundi . A. p. mutis Thomas, 1902 — Ethiopia . A. p. mordax Thomas, 1912 — S Tanzania . A. p. pluto Temminck, 1853 — Senegal to Nigeria . A. p. robustus Gray, 1865 — Chad and Sudan . A. p. rubellus Thomas & Wroughton, 1908 — Malawi , Mozambique , and Zimbabwe . A. p. rubescens Hollister, 1912 — N Tanzania , Kenya , and Uganda . A. p. spadiceus Cabrera, 1921 — Cameroon to Gabon . A. p. transvaalensis Roberts, 1933 — N South Africa to Angola and Zambia .