Bush-tailed mongoose
| Bush-tailed mongoose | ||||||||||||
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Bush-tailed mongoose ( Bdeogale crassicauda ) |
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| Bdeogale crassicauda | ||||||||||||
| Peters , 1852 |
The bush-tailed mongoose ( Bdeogale crassicauda ) is a species of predator from the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It is native to eastern Africa from southern Kenya to central Mozambique and is also found in Yemen . The name-giving feature is the bushy tail. It feeds almost exclusively on insects , preferably ants and termites .
features
The bush tailed mongoose is a medium-sized mongoose species with a brown coat color (one subspecies is described as yellowish-brown). The body length including head is less than 50 cm, the tail is a maximum of 30 cm long and the animal weighs a maximum of two kilograms. Characteristic are the four toes on the front and rear legs and the bushy tail that gives it its name. The somewhat larger black-footed mongoose ( Bdeogale nigripes ) looks lighter and has a silvery-gray color that contrasts with the dark legs. The common mongoose ( Paracynictis selousi ), which occurs sympatricly in the southern part of the distribution area, is somewhat larger and greyish, and it also has a white tip of its tail.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the bush-tailed mongoose is in eastern Africa and extends from southern Kenya to central Mozambique and includes Malawi , eastern Zambia , part of the south-eastern Republic of the Congo and Tanzania . The species can also be found on the island of Zanzibar . The height distribution extends to heights of 1,850 meters.
Systematics
The bush tailed mongoose is one of three types of the black-footed mongoose ( Bdeogale ) within the mongooses (Herpestidae). The species itself is divided into up to five subspecies, with very little material available for each:
- B. c. crassicauda , terra typica in Mozambique
- B. c. nigrescens , terra typica near Nairobi , Kenya
- B. c. omnivora , terra typica near Mazeras , formerly British East Africa (now Kenya). This subspecies is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN in the Red List of Threatened Species as a separate species B. omnivora .
- B. c. puisa
- B. c. tenuis , on Zanzibar
Hazardous situation
The subspecies B. c. omnivora is seen by the IUCN in the Red List of Threatened Species under the species name B. omnivora as endangered ("Vulnerable"). The population of the bush-tailed mongoose listed separately there is referred to as not endangered (“Least Concern”).
supporting documents
- ^ A b Mark E. Taylor: Bdeogale crassicaudata. Mammalian Species 294, Aug. 12, 1987; Pp. 1–4 ( PDF ).
- ^ Bdeogale crassicauda in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved January 26, 2010.
literature
- Mark E. Taylor: Bdeogale crassicaudata. Mammalian Species 294, Aug. 12, 1987; P. 1–4 ( PDF )
Web links
- Bdeogale crassicauda onthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved January 26, 2010.