Black-footed mongoose

Black-footed mongoose
	Bush-tailed mongoose ( Bdeogale crassicauda )
Systematics
Subclass :	Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate :	Laurasiatheria
Order :	Predators (Carnivora)
Subordination :	Feline (Feliformia)
Family :	Mongooses (Herpestidae)
Genre :	Black-footed mongoose
Scientific name
	Bdeogale
	Peters , 1850

The black-footed mongoose ( Bdeogale ) are a genus of mammals from the family of the mongooses (Herpestidae). The three species of this genus live in central and eastern Africa and Yemen .

General

This genus is named after its black limbs, the rest of the fur is mostly gray-brown in color, but can vary both within a species and between species. These animals reach a head body length of 38 to 60 centimeters, to which a tail 18 to 38 centimeters are added. The weight of adult animals is between 0.9 and 3 kilograms.

Not much is known about the way these animals live. They are more likely to be nocturnal loners and mainly feed on insects, to a lesser extent they also eat small vertebrates.

Distribution areas of the black-footed mongoose:
blue - bush-tailed mongoose,
green - black-footed mongoose,
purple - Jackson mongoose

Systematics

The bush-tailed mongoose ( Bdeogale crassicauda ) 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. The International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) classifies this mongoose species as not endangered (“Least Concern”) in the Red List of Threatened Species .

The black-footed mongoose ( Bdeogale nigripes ) lives in central Africa. Their distribution area extends from southeastern Nigeria to northern Angola . It also eats small animals and carrion to a greater extent than the bush-tailed mongoose. This species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN .

The Jackson mongoose ( Bdeogale jacksoni ) is the rarest and least known of the three species and lives in a small area in southeastern Uganda and central Kenya . The IUCN lists the species as “Near Threatened”.

The IUCN leads in this genus with Bdeogale omnivora another type as vulnerable ( "Vulnerable"). However, she notes that some authors classify this as a subspecies of the bush-tailed mongoose.

literature

Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0801857899

Web links

Commons : Black-footed mongoose ( Bdeogale ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Search for “Bdeogale” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009. Accessed January 27, 2010.