Mungos gambianus, E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. G. Cuvier, 1795

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Herpestidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 262-328 : 327

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

Mungos gambianus View in CoL

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).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Herpestidae

Genus

Mungos

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