Kusimansen
| Kusimansen | ||||||||||||
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Dark kusimansen ( Crossarchus obscurus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Crossarchus | ||||||||||||
| F. Cuvier , 1825 |
The Kusimansen ( Crossarchus ) are a genus of predators from the family of the mongooses (Herpestidae). The four species of this genus are native to western and central Africa.
features
The fur of the Kusimansen is relatively coarse and long, it is reddish-brown to black-brown in color and often speckled. The head is lighter than the body, while the limbs are darker. The front paws have long claws, the claws of the rear paws are shorter. The relatively short tail is pointed. Characteristic for the genus is the long snout, the ears are small and rounded. These animals reach head body lengths of 30 to 45 centimeters, the tail is 15 to 32 centimeters long. The weight of adult animals is between 0.5 and 2 kilograms.
Way of life
The habitat of these animals are forests or wetlands. They live in groups that consist of 10 to 24 animals and are composed of one to three families. They wander around and rarely stay in one place for more than two days. They are mostly diurnal, but sometimes go for food at night as well. They have no fixed burrows, but sleep in holes in the ground, in hollow tree trunks or in dense vegetation.
Kusimansen are omnivores that feed on insects and their larvae, other invertebrates, small vertebrates, eggs and fruits.
Several times a year the female gives birth to two to four young animals after a gestation period of around 58 days. They start eating solid food from the third week of life and become sexually mature at nine months. In human care, they can reach nine years of age.
Kusimansen and humans
Sometimes Kusimansen are kept as pets, they are considered intelligent and easy to tame animals.
Hazardous situation
The Kusimansen are widespread in the wild. Apart from Angola Kusimanse whose level of danger in the Red List of Threatened Species of the World Conservation Union IUCN is not known due to insufficient data ( "Data Deficient"), all species are considered not at risk ( "Least Concern").
Systematics
There are four types:
- The dark kusimanse ( Crossarchus obscurus ) is widespread from Guinea to Ghana.
- The flat-headed kusimanse or Cameroonian kusimanse ( Crossarchus platycephalus ) occurs from Benin to the Republic of the Congo.
- The Angolan kusimanse ( Crossarchus ansorgei ) is known from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Angola.
- The Congo Kusimanse ( Crossarchus alexandri ) lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
Sometimes other species of mongoose are also referred to as kusimans, such as the Liberian kusimans . However, these are not representatives of this genus,
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
- JS Gilchrist, AP Jennings, G. Veron and P. Cavallini: Family Herpestidae (Mongooses). In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 , pp. 262-329.
Web links
- Crossarchus on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved January 26, 2010.