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HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA  --> ORDER CARNIVORA  --> SUBORDER FELIFORMIA  --> FAMILY Herpestidae

GENUS Herpestes

Author:Illiger, 1811.
Citation:Prodr. Syst. Mamm. Avium.: 135.
Type Species:Viverra ichneumon Linnaeus, 1758, by absolute tautonomy, through the replaced name Ichneumon Lacépède, 1799 (Melville and Smith, 1987).
Comments:Revised by Pocock (1919, 1937, 1941a), Bechthold (1939), and Taylor and Matheson (1999). Coetzee (1977b) and Hayman (in Sanderson, 1940) included Xenogale (see discussion under naso). Allen (1924) included only ichneumon in this genus and separated sanguinea and pulverulenta into Galerella; for support, he contrasted the large ichneumon with the smaller sanguine-pulverulenta complex and reported proportion differences in measurements of skeleton and skull. His rationale has been repeated, in some cases verbatum, by Rosevear (1974), Ansell (1978), Smithers (1983), Meester et al. (1986), and Watson and Dippenaar (1987). Taylor et al. (1991) presented an allozyme analysis and argued for generic recognition, however, they did not include Asiatic Herpestes, and their consensus tree made the placement of the sanguinea/pulverulenta clade equivocal. Fredga's (1972) comparative chromosome analysis looked at variation including Asiatic and African Herpestes, and based on this, recognition of Galerella would make Herpestes paraphyletic. Comparison of measurements from Allen (1924), Rosevear (1974), and Smithers (1983) for African forms, and Bechthold (1939) and Pocock (1941a) for Asiatic forms reveals that the large morphological gaps originally identified by Allen (1924) dissolve when Asiatic species are included. Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1953) and Wozencraft (1989b) suggested that differences between these taxa and other Herpestes are less than those found within Herpestes. Morphological criteria similar to that used by Allen (1924) have been used mostly at the specific level in other carnivores. Although the case is not strong, many recent authors have separated Galerella and this is provisionally followed here (see comments under Galerella) as nearly all agree that this is a monophyletic group. McKenna and Bell (1997) included Galerella. Taylor and Matheson’s (1999) phenetic analysis illustrated interesting parallel developments between Asiatic and African mongooses. Veron et al. (2004) suggested that placement of H. auropunctata and H. ichneumon in the same genus group to the exclusion of Ichneumia would make Herpestes paraphyletic.
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Offspring:

SPECIES brachyurus

SUBSPECIES brachyurus

SUBSPECIES hosei

SUBSPECIES javanensis

SUBSPECIES palawanus

SUBSPECIES parvus

SUBSPECIES sumatrius

SPECIES edwardsi

SUBSPECIES edwardsi

SUBSPECIES ferrugineus

SUBSPECIES lanka

SUBSPECIES montanus

SUBSPECIES nyula

SPECIES fuscus

SUBSPECIES fuscus

SUBSPECIES flavidens

SUBSPECIES maccarthiae

SUBSPECIES rubidior

SUBSPECIES siccatus

SPECIES ichneumon

SUBSPECIES ichneumon

SUBSPECIES angolensis

SUBSPECIES cafra

SUBSPECIES centralis

SUBSPECIES funestus

SUBSPECIES mababiensis

SUBSPECIES numidicus

SUBSPECIES parvidens

SUBSPECIES sabiensis

SUBSPECIES sangronizi

SUBSPECIES widdringtonii

SPECIES javanicus

SUBSPECIES javanicus

SUBSPECIES auropunctatus

SUBSPECIES exilis

SUBSPECIES orientalis

SUBSPECIES pallipes

SUBSPECIES palustris

SUBSPECIES peninsulae

SUBSPECIES perakensis

SUBSPECIES rafflesii

SUBSPECIES rubrifrons

SUBSPECIES siamensis

SUBSPECIES tjerapai

SPECIES naso

SPECIES semitorquatus

SUBSPECIES semitorquatus

SUBSPECIES uniformis

SPECIES smithii

SUBSPECIES smithii

SUBSPECIES thysanurus

SUBSPECIES zeylanius

SPECIES urva

SUBSPECIES urva

SUBSPECIES annamensis

SUBSPECIES formosanus

SUBSPECIES sinensis

SPECIES vitticollis

SUBSPECIES vitticollis

SUBSPECIES inornatus

Synonyms:

    Calogale Gray, 1865
    Calictis Gray, 1865
    Herpertes Illiger, 1811
    Ichneumon Frisch, 1775
    Mangusta Horsfield, 1822
    Mesobema Hodgson, 1841
    Onychogale Gray, 1865
    Taeniogale Gray, 1865
    Urva Hodgson, 1837
    Xenogale Allen, 1919

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