Mongoose

Mongoose is the popular English name for 29 of the 34 species in the 14 genera of the family Herpestidae, which are small feliform carnivorans native to southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. The other five species (all African) in the family are the four kusimanses in the genus Crossarchus, and the species Suricata suricatta, commonly called meerkat in English. Six species in the family Eupleridae are endemic to the island of Madagascar. These are called 'mongoose' and were originally classified as a genus within the family Herpestidae, but genetic evidence has since shown that they are more closely related to other Madagascar carnivorans in the family Eupleridae; they have been classified in the subfamily Galidiinae within Eupleridae since 2006. Herpestidae is placed within the suborder Feliformia, together with the cat, hyena, and Viverridae families. The name 'mongoose' is likely derived from the Marathi name muṅgūs (मुंगूस) (pronounced as ) and ultimately from the Telugu name muṅgisa or Kannada muṅgisi. The form of the English name (since 1698) was altered to its '-goose' ending by folk-etymology. The plural form is 'mongooses'. Historically, it has also been spelled 'mungoose'. The 34 mongoose species range from 24 to 58 cm (9.4 to 22.8 in) in head to body length, excluding the tail. They range in weight from 320 g (11 oz) to 5 kg (11 lb).They bear a striking resemblance to mustelids, having long faces and bodies, small, rounded ears, short legs, and long, tapering tails. Most are brindled or grizzly; a few have strongly marked coats. Their nonretractile claws are used primarily for digging. Mongooses, much like goats, have narrow, ovular pupils. Most species have a large anal scent gland, used for territorial marking and signaling reproductive status. The dental formula of mongooses is 3.1.3–4.1–23.1.3–4.1–2. Mongooses also have receptors for acetylcholine that, like the receptors in snakes, are shaped so that it is impossible for snake neurotoxin venom to attach to them. Mongooses are one of four known mammalian taxa with mutations in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that protect against snake venom. Pigs, honey badgers, hedgehogs, and mongooses all have modifications to the receptor pocket that prevents the snake venom α-neurotoxin from binding. These represent four separate, independent mutations. In the mongoose, this change is effected uniquely, by glycosylation. Researchers are investigating whether similar mechanisms protect the mongoose from hemotoxic snake venoms. The family Herpestidae was first described by French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1845. In her 1973 book The Carnivores, mammalogist R. F. Ewer included all mongooses in the family Viverridae, though subsequent publications considered them a separate family. In 1864, British zoologist John Edward Gray classified the herpestids into three subfamilies: Galiidinae, Herpestinae and Mungotinae. This grouping was supported by British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock in his 1919 publication, in which he referred to the family as 'Mungotidae'. However, in the 2000s, genetic evidence from nuclear and mitochondrial analyses argued against placing the galidiines in the mongoose family; these species have been found to be more closely related to other Madagascar carnivores, including the fossa and Malagasy civet. Galiidinae is presently considered a subfamily of Eupleridae. A fossil species, Kichecia zamanae is known from Miocene fossils from Uganda and Kenya.