Mungos gambianus, E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. G. Cuvier, 1795
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5676639 |
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5698495 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/143F87B3-FFDA-FF9C-FF05-9789F736FB07 |
treatment provided by |
Conny |
scientific name |
Mungos gambianus |
status |
|
33. View On
Gambian Mongoose
French: Mangouste de Gambie / German: Gambia-Manguste / Spanish: Mangosta de Gambia
Taxonomy. Herpestes gambianus Ogilby, 1835 ,
Cape St. Mary, Gambia.
Monotypic.
Distribution. W Africa from Senegal and Gambia to Nigeria. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 30-45 cm, tail 23-29 cm; weight 1.2-2 kg. No obvious sexual dimorphism. Short face. Brownish-gray fur with a distinctive black streak at the sides of the white neck from ear to foreleg. Fur coarse. Bushy tail that tapers at the black tip. Five digits on feet, with strong claws on the forefeet. Three pairs of mammae. Dental formula: I 3/3, Cl1/1,P3/3,M 2/2 = 36.
Habitat. Semi-moist savannah and grassland, semi-desert, and woodland.
Food and Feeding. Mainly invertebrates (with some vertebrates).
Activity patterns. Diurnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. In Senegal, mixed-sex groups average 6-7 individuals (range = 1-40). Twitters continuously while foraging.
Breeding. Nothing known.
Status and Conservation. Not CITES listed. Classified as Least Concern in The [UCN Red List. Apparently widespread and common, but almost nothing known of its ecology and field research is needed. Sometimes considered a pest to farmers and is sold as bushmeat.
Bibliography. Colyn et al. (2000), Ewer (1973), Kingdon (1997), Sillero-Zubiri & Bassignani (2001), Van Rompaey (1991), Van Rompaey & Sillero-Zubiri (In press), Wozencraft (2005).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.