Crab-eating mongoose
| Crab-eating mongoose | |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Herpestidae |
| Subfamily: | Herpestinae |
| Genus: | Herpestes |
| Species: | H. urva |
| Binomial name | |
| Herpestes urva Hodgson, 1836 |
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| Crab-eating mongoose range (green - extant, pink - probably extant) |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Herpestes urva |
The crab-eating mongoose (Herpestes urva) is a southeast and east Asian species of mongoose of the family Herpestidae.[2] It is found in northeastern India, Nepal, Myanmar, southern China, and through southeast Asia, including the countries of Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Laos and Thailand.
It is generally grey in color, with a broad white stripe on its neck extending from its cheeks to its chest. Its throat is steel-gray with white ends of its hair, rendering a salt and pepper appearance. Its hind feet possess hairy soles. Its tail is short and homogeneously colored with a fairer tip.
The body length of crab-eating mongoose is 36–52 cm (14–20 in) and body weight 1–2.3 kg (2.2–5.1 lb).[3]
Despite their common name, their diet consists not only of crabs, but also just about anything else they can catch, including fish, snails, frogs, rodents, birds, reptiles, and insects.
They are nocturnal, excellent swimmers, and spend a fair amount of time in or near water or other moist plots of land.
Notes [edit]
- ^ Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.J. (2008). "Herpestes urva". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 May 2011. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 569–570. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Sheng, Helin, ed. (2005). Atlas of Mammals of China (in Chinese). Zhengzhou: Henan Science and Technoledge Press. p. 188. ISBN 7-5349-2936-9.
References [edit]
- Lioncrusher's Domain: Crab Eating Mongoose
- A field guide to Indian mammals by Vivek Menon
- Life and times of the Mongoose by Nandita Boogagee
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