Egyptian mongoose
| Egyptian mongoose | |
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| Species: | H. ichneumon
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| Binomial name | |
| Herpestes ichneumon | |
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| Egyptian mongoose range (green – native, red – possibly introduced) | |
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Viverra ichneumon Linnaeus, 1758 | |
The Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), also known as ichneumon, is a mongoose species native to the Iberian Peninsula, coastal regions along the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and Turkey, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands in Africa. Because of its widespread occurrence, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.[1]
Characteristics
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The Egyptian mongoose's long, coarse fur is grey to reddish brown and ticked with brown and yellow flecks. Its snout is pointed, its ears are small. Its slender body is 48–60 cm (1 ft 7 in – 2 ft 0 in) long with a 33–54 cm (1 ft 1 in – 1 ft 9 in) long black tipped tail. Its hind feet and a small area around the eyes are furless. It has 35–40 teeth, with highly developed carnassials, used for shearing meat. It weighs 1.7–4 kg (3.7–8.8 lb).[2]
Sexually dimorph Egyptian mongooses were observed in Portugal, where some females are smaller than males.[3]
Distribution and habitat
The Egyptian mongoose lives in swampy and marshy habitats near streams, rivers, lakes and in coastal areas. Where it inhabits maquis shrubland in the Iberian Peninsula, it prefers areas close to rivers with dense vegetation. It does not occur in deserts.[2] It has been recorded in Portugal from north of the Douro River to the south, and in Spain from the central plateau, Andalucía to the Strait of Gibraltar.[4][5] It is generally believed to have been introduced in the Iberian Peninsula by the moors sometime between the 8th and 15th century, even though research published in 2018 suggests a much earlier introduction, during the Roman domination.[6] Alternatively, some authors propose a natural colonisation of the Iberian Peninsula during the Pleistocene across a land bridge when sea levels were low between glacial and interglacial periods. This population would have remained isolated from populations in Africa after the last Ice Age.[7][8]
In North Africa, it occurs along the coast from Western Sahara to Tunisia, and from northern Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula.[1] In Egypt, one individual was observed in Faiyum Oasis in 1993. In the same year, its tracks were recorded in sand dunes close to the coast near Sidi Barrani.[9] An individual was observed on an island in Lake Burullus in the Nile Delta during an ecological survey in the late 1990s.[10] In the Palestinian territories, it was recorded in the Gaza Strip and Jericho Governorate in the West Bank during surveys carried out between 2012 and 2016.[11] In western Syria, it was observed in the Latakia Governorate between 1989 and 1995; taxidermied specimens were offered in local shops.[12] In southern Turkey, it was recorded in the Hatay and Adana Provinces.[13]
In Ethiopia, the Egyptian mongoose was recorded at an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in the Ethiopian Highlands.[14] In Sudan, it is present in Dinder National Park and in the vicinity of human settlements along the Rahad River.[15]
In Senegal, it was observed in 2000 in Niokolo-Koba National Park, which mainly encompasses open habitat dominated by grasses.[16] In Guinea’s National Park of Upper Niger, the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose was first documented during surveys in spring 1997. Surveyors found dead individuals on bushmeat markets in villages located in the vicinity of the park.[17] In the floodplains and gallery forests of Benin’s Pendjari National Park and adjacent hunting zones, it was among the most abundant small carnivores recorded by camera-traps in 2014 and 2015.[18]
Behaviour and ecology
The Egyptian mongoose is diurnal.[19] In Doñana National Park, single Egyptian mongooses, pairs and groups of up to five individuals were observed. Adult males showed territorial behaviour, and shared their home ranges with one or several females. The home ranges of adult females overlapped to some degree, except in core areas where they raised their offspring.[20]
It preys on rodents, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. It also feeds on fruit and eggs. To crack eggs open, it throws them between its legs against a rock or wall.[2] In Doñana National Park, 30 Egyptian mongooses were radio-tracked in 1985 and their faeces collected. These samples contained remains of sand lizards, European rabbit, Iberian spadefoot toad, greater white-toothed shrew, three-toed skink, dabbling ducks, western cattle egret, wild boar meat, Algerian mouse and rat species.[21] It attacks and feeds on venomous snakes, and is resistant to the venom of Palestine viper, Walterinnesia aegyptia and black-necked spitting cobra.[22]
Reproduction
Captive males and females reach sexual maturity at the age of two years.[23] In Doñana National Park, courtship and mating happens in spring between February and June. Two to three pups are born between mid April and mid August after a gestation of 11 weeks.[24] They are hairless at first, and open their eyes after about a week. Females take care of them for up to one year, occasionally also longer. They start foraging on their own at the age of four months, but compete for food brought back to them after that age. In the wild, Egyptian mongooses probably reach 12 years of age. A captive Egyptian mongoose was over 20 years old.[2] Its generation length is 7.5 years.[25]
Taxonomy
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described an Egyptian mongoose from the area of the Nile River in Egypt in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Viverra ichneumon.[26] H. i. ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758) is the nominate subspecies. The following subspecies were described between the late 18th century and the early 1930s:[27]
- Viverra cafra (Gmelin, 1788) − based on a description of a specimen from the Cape of Good Hope.[28]
- Herpestes ichneumon numidicus F. G. Cuvier, 1834 − two individuals from Algiers in Algeria kept in the menagerie of the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, France[29]
- Herpestes ichneumon widdringtonii Gray, 1842 − a specimen from Sierra Morena in Spain[30]
- Herpestes angolensis (Bocage, 1890) − a male specimen from Quissange in Angola[31]
- Mungos ichneumon parvidens (Lönnberg, 1908) − three specimens collected near the lower Congo River in Congo Free State[32]
- Mungos ichneumon funestus (Osgood, 1910) − a specimen from Naivasha in British East Africa[33]
- Mungos ichneumon centralis (Lönnberg, 1917) − two specimens from Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo[34]
- Herpestes ichneumon sangronizi Cabrera, 1924 − a specimen from Mogador in Morocco[35]
- Herpestes caffer sabiensis (Roberts, 1926) − a specimen from Sabi Sand Game Reserve in Southern Africa[36]
- Herpestes cafer mababiensis (Roberts, 1932) − a specimen from Mababe in northern Bechuanaland[37]
In 1811, Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger subsumed the ichneumon to the genus Herpestes.[38]
Threats
A survey of poaching methods in Israel carried out in autumn 2000 revealed that the Egyptian mongoose is affected by snaring in agricultural areas. Most of the traps found were set up by Thai guest workers.[39]
Conservation
The Egyptian mongoose is listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention, and Annex V of the European Union Habitats and Species Directive.[1] In Israel, wildlife is protected by law, and hunting allowed only with a permit.[39]
Cultural references
Mummified remains of four Egyptian mongooses were excavated in the catacombs of Anubis at Saqqara during works started in 2009.[40] At the cemetery of Beni Hasan, an Egyptian mongoose on a leash is depicted in the tomb of Baqet I dating to the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt.[41]
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Bronze statue, Ptolemaic Dynasty -
The American poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poem as an elegy for an ichneumon, which had been brought to Haverhill Academy in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1830. The long lost poem was published in the November 20, 1902 issue of "The Independent" Magazine.[citation needed] In Christopher Smart's poem, Jubilate Agno, the poet's cat Jeoffry was praised in line 63: "For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land," for a purported attack on an Egyptian mongoose.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Do Linh San, E.; Maddock, A.H.; Gaubert, P. & Palomares, F. (2016). "Herpestes ichneumon". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. IUCN: e.T41613A45207211. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41613A45207211.en.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Palomares, F. (2013). "Herpestes ichneumon Egyptian Mongoose (Ichneumon)". The Mammals of Africa. V. Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 306−310. ISBN 9781408189962.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|editors=ignored (|editor=suggested) (help) - ^ "Geographic variation and sexual dimorphism in body size of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon in the western limit of its European distribution". Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology. 264: 1–10. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2016.06.001.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "The distribution of the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (L.) in Portugal" (PDF). Mammal Review (25): 229−236. 1995. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1996.tb00143.x.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "Expansion and distribution of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula". Galemys. 24: 83−85. 2012. doi:10.7325/Galemys.2012.N08.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "El 'meloncillo' llegó a la Península Ibérica cinco siglos antes de lo que se creía" (in Spanish). University of Granada. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Comparative phylogeography of two African carnivorans presumably introduced into Europe: disentangling natural versus human-mediated dispersal across the Strait of Gibraltar". Journal of Biogeography (38): 341−358. 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "Comparative phylogeography of two African carnivorans presumably introduced into Europe: disentangling natural versus human-mediated dispersal across the Strait of Gibraltar". Journal of Biogeography (38): 341−358. 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Kasparek, M. (1993). "The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, in western Egypt". Zoology in the Middle East. 9 (1): 31–32.
- ^ Basuony, M.I. (2000). "Herpestes ichneumon ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758)". Ecological Survey of Burullus Nature Protectorate. Mammals. Cairo: Nature Conservation Sector, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. p. 19.
- ^ Albaba, I. (2016). "The terrestrial mammals of Palestine: A preliminary checklist". International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies. 3 (4): 28−35.
- ^ Masseti, M. (2009). "Carnivores of Syria". ZooKeys (31): 229–252. doi:10.3897/zookeys.31.170.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Özkurt, Ş.Ö. (2015). "Karyological and some morphological characteristics of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon (Mammalia: Carnivora), along with current distribution range in Turkey" (PDF). Turkish Journal of Zoology (39): 482−487.
- ^ "Catalogue of the Mammals of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Revised checklist, zoogeography and conservation". Tropical Zoology 9 (1): 73−164. 1996.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, is a possible reservoir host of visceral leishmaniasis in eastern Sudan". Parasitology. 122 (5): 531–536. 2001.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and their mammalian sympatriates: Mt. Assirik, Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal". Primates. 55 (4): 525−532. 2014. doi:10.1007/s10329-014-0434-2.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "High mammalian diversity in the newly established National Park of Upper Niger, Republic of Guinea". Oryx. 36 (1): 73–80. 2002. doi:10.1017/S0030605301000011.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "Diversity of small carnivores in Pendjari biosphere reserve, Benin" (PDF). Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies. 5 (6): 1429–1433. 2017. doi:10.22271/j.ento.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Estes, R. D. (1991). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates. University of California Press. pp. 298–302. ISBN 0-520-08085-8.
- ^ "Social organization in the Egyptian mongoose: group size, spatial behaviour and inter-individual contacts in adults". Animal Behaviour. 45 (5): 917–925. 1993. doi:10.1006/anbe.1993.1111.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Palomares, F. (1993). "Opportunistic feeding of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpertes ichneumon (L.) in Southwestern Spain". Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie). 48: 295–304.
{{cite journal}}: no-break space character in|journal=at position 6 (help) - ^ "Neutralization of Viperide and Elapidae snake venoms by sera of different animals". Toxicon (15): 541−547. 1977.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Dücker, V.G. (1960). "Beobachtungen über das Paarungsverhalten des Ichneumons (Herpestes ichneumon L.)" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 25: 47–51.
- ^ "Some physical and population characteristics of Egyptian mongooses (Herpertes ichneumon L., 1758) in southwestern Spain". Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 57: 94–99. 1992.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Pacifici, M., Santini, L., Di Marco, M., Baisero, D., Francucci, L., Grottolo Marasini, G., Visconti, P. and Rondinini, C. (2013). "Generation length for mammals". Nature Conservation (5): 87–94.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). "Viverra ichneumon". Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. Tomus I (decima, reformata ed.). Holmiae: Laurentius Salvius. p. 41.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) Template:La icon - ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Herpestes ichneumon". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 567. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Gmelin, J. F. (1788). "Viverra cafra". Caroli a Linné systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I (Editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata ed.). Leipzig: Georg Emanuel Beer. p. 85.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Cuvier, F.G. (1834). "Mangouste d'Alger". Histoire naturelle des mammifères : avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'après des animaux vivans. Tome VII. Paris: Blaise. p. 68.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Gray, J. E. (1842). "Description of a new species of Ichneumon (Herpestes) discovered in Spain". The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology. 9 (55): 49−50.
- ^ Bocage, J.V.B. (1890). "Mammifières d'Angola et du Congo". Jornal de Sciências Mathemáticas, Physicas e Naturaes Series 2. 2 (2): 1−32.
- ^ Lönnberg, E. (1908). "Notes on some Mammals collected in the Congo Free State". Arkiv för Zoologi. 4 (16): 1−14.
- ^ Osgood, W.H. (1910). "Further new mammals from British East Africa". Publications of Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series. 10: 15−21.
- ^ Lönnberg, E. (1917). "Mammals collected in Central Africa by Captain E. Arrhenius". Kongliga Svenska vetenskapsakademiens handlingar. 58 (2): 1−110.
- ^ Cabrera, Á. (1924). "Mamíferos africanos nuevos". Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. 24 (4): 216−224.
- ^ Roberts, A. (1926). "Some new S. African mammals and some changes in nomenclature". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 11 (4): 245−267.
- ^ Roberts, A. (1932). "Preliminary description of fifty-seven new forms of South African mammals". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 15 (1): 1−19.
- ^ Illiger, C. D. (1811). "Genus Herpestes". Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium additis terminis zoographicis uttriusque classis. Berlin: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 135.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Yom-Tov, Y. (2003). "Poaching of Israeli wildlife by guest workers" (PDF). Biological Conservation. 110 (1): 11−20.
- ^ "The Catacombs of Anubis at North Saqqara" (PDF). Antiquity. 89 (345): 645−661. 2015. doi:10.15184/aqy.2014.53.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Evans, L. (2017). "Beasts and Beliefs at Beni Hassan: A Preliminary Report". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 52: 219−229.
External links
- Jarus, O. (2017). "Tomb Drawing Shows Mongoose on a Leash, Puzzling Archaeologists". Live Science. Retrieved 9 August 2017.