Egyptian mongoose
Temporal range:
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Herpestidae
Genus: Herpestes
Species:
H. ichneumon
Binomial name
Herpestes ichneumon
Egyptian mongoose range
(green – native, red – possibly introduced)
Synonyms

Viverra ichneumon Linnaeus, 1758

The Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), also known as ichneumon (/ɪkˈnjuːmən/),[2] is a mongoose species native to the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands of Africa and around the Mediterranean Basin in North Africa, the Middle East and the Iberian Peninsula. Whether it is introduced or native to the Iberian Peninsula is in some doubt. Because of its widespread occurrence, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.[1]

Characteristics

Egyptian mongoose skull

The Egyptian mongoose's long, coarse fur is grey to reddish brown and ticked with brown and yellow flecks. Its snout is pointed, its ears are small. Its slender body is 48–60 cm (1 ft 7 in – 2 ft 0 in) long with a 33–54 cm (1 ft 1 in – 1 ft 9 in) long black tipped tail. Its hind feet and a small area around the eyes are furless. It has 35–40 teeth, with highly developed carnassials, used for shearing meat. It weighs 1.7–4 kg (3.7–8.8 lb).[3]

Sexually dimorphic Egyptian mongooses were observed in Portugal, where some females are smaller than males.[4]

Female Egyptian mongooses have 44 chromosomes, and males 43, as one Y chromosome is translocated to an autosome.[5]

Distribution and habitat

The Egyptian mongoose lives in swampy and marshy habitats near streams, rivers, lakes and in coastal areas. Where it inhabits maquis shrubland in the Iberian Peninsula, it prefers areas close to rivers with dense vegetation. It does not occur in deserts.[3]

It has been recorded in Portugal from north of the Douro River to the south, and in Spain from the central plateau, Andalucía to the Strait of Gibraltar.[6][7]

In North Africa, it occurs along the coast from Western Sahara to Tunisia, and from northern Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula.[1] In Egypt, one individual was observed in Faiyum Oasis in 1993. In the same year, its tracks were recorded in sand dunes close to the coast near Sidi Barrani.[8] An individual was observed on an island in Lake Burullus in the Nile Delta during an ecological survey in the late 1990s.[9] In the Palestinian territories, it was recorded in the Gaza Strip and Jericho Governorate in the West Bank during surveys carried out between 2012 and 2016.[10] In western Syria, it was observed in the Latakia Governorate between 1989 and 1995; taxidermied specimens were offered in local shops.[11] In southern Turkey, it was recorded in the Hatay and Adana Provinces.[12]

In Sudan, it is present in the vicinity of human settlements along the Rahad River and in Dinder National Park.[13] It was also recorded in the Dinder–Alatash protected area complex during surveys between 2015 and 2018.[14] In Ethiopia, the Egyptian mongoose was recorded at altitudes of 2,000–3,000 metres (6,600–9,800 ft) in the Ethiopian Highlands.[15][16]

In Senegal, it was observed in 2000 in Niokolo-Koba National Park, which mainly encompasses open habitat dominated by grasses.[17] In Guinea's National Park of Upper Niger, the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose was first documented during surveys in spring 1997. Surveyors found dead individuals on bushmeat markets in villages located in the vicinity of the park.[18]

In Gabon's Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, it was recorded only in savanna habitats.[19] In the Republic of Congo, it was repeatedly observed in the Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic of Odzala-Kokoua National Park during surveys in 2007.[20]

In the 1990s, it was considered a common species in Tanzania's Mkomazi National Park.[21]

Occurrence in Iberian Peninsula

Several hypotheses were proposed to explain the occurrence of the Egyptian mongoose in the Iberian Peninsula:

  • TraditionalIy, it was thought to have been introduced following the Muslim invasion in the 8th century.[22]
  • Bones of Egyptian mongoose excavated in Spain and Portugal were radiocarbon dated to the first century. The scientists therefore suggested an introduction during the Roman Hispania era and use for eliminating rats and mice in domestic areas.[23]
  • Other authors proposed a natural colonisation of the Iberian Peninsula during the Pleistocene across a land bridge when sea levels were low between glacial and interglacial periods. This population would have remained isolated from populations in Africa after the last ice age.[24]

Behaviour and ecology

The Egyptian mongoose is active during the day

The Egyptian mongoose is diurnal.[25] In Doñana National Park, single Egyptian mongooses, pairs and groups of up to five individuals were observed. Adult males showed territorial behaviour, and shared their home ranges with one or several females. The home ranges of adult females overlapped to some degree, except in core areas where they raised their offspring.[26]

It preys on rodents, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. It also feeds on fruit and eggs. To crack eggs open, it throws them between its legs against a rock or wall.[3] In Doñana National Park, 30 Egyptian mongooses were radio-tracked in 1985 and their faeces collected. These samples contained remains of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), sand lizards (Psammodromus), Iberian spadefoot toad (Pelobates cultripes), greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula), three-toed skink (Chalcides chalcides), dabbling ducks (Anas), western cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis), wild boar (Sus scrofa) meat, Algerian mouse (Mus spretus) and rat species (Rattus).[27] Research in southeastern Nigeria revealed that it also feeds on giant pouched rats (Cricetomys), Temminck's mouse (Mus musculoides), Tullberg's soft-furred mouse (Praomys tulbergi), Nigerian shrew (Crocidura nigeriae), Hallowell's toad (Amietophrynus maculatus), African brown water snake (Afronatrix anoscopus), and Mabuya skinks.[28] It attacks and feeds on venomous snakes, and is resistant to the venom of Palestine viper (Daboia palaestinae), black desert cobra (Walterinnesia aegyptia) and black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis).[29]

In Spain, it has been recorded less frequently in areas where the Iberian lynx was reintroduced.[30]

Reproduction

Captive males and females reach sexual maturity at the age of two years.[31] In Doñana National Park, courtship and mating happens in spring between February and June. Two to three pups are born between mid April and mid August after a gestation of 11 weeks.[32] They are hairless at first, and open their eyes after about a week. Females take care of them for up to one year, occasionally also longer. They start foraging on their own at the age of four months, but compete for food brought back to them after that age. In the wild, Egyptian mongooses probably reach 12 years of age. A captive Egyptian mongoose was over 20 years old.[3] Its generation length is 7.5 years.[33]

Taxonomy

In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described an Egyptian mongoose from the area of the Nile River in Egypt in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Viverra ichneumon.[34] H. i. ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758) is the nominate subspecies. The following zoological specimen were described between the late 18th century and the early 1930s as subspecies:[35]

In 1811, Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger subsumed the ichneumon to the genus Herpestes.[46]

Threats

A survey of poaching methods in Israel carried out in autumn 2000 revealed that the Egyptian mongoose is affected by snaring in agricultural areas. Most of the traps found were set up by Thai guest workers.[47] Numerous dried heads of Egyptian mongooses were found in 2007 at the Dantokpa Market in southern Benin, suggesting that it is used as fetish in animal rituals.[48]

Conservation

The Egyptian mongoose is listed on Appendix III of the Berne Convention, and Annex V of the European Union Habitats and Species Directive.[1] In Israel, wildlife is protected by law, and hunting allowed only with a permit.[47]

In culture

Bronze statue with uraeus and solar disc, Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt
Bronze statue, Ptolemaic Dynasty
A Late period statue dedicated to the goddess Wadjet, exhibited in Walters Art Museum

Mummified remains of four Egyptian mongooses were excavated in the catacombs of Anubis at Saqqara during works started in 2009.[49] At the cemetery of Beni Hasan, an Egyptian mongoose on a leash is depicted in the tomb of Baqet I dating to the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt.[50] The American poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poem as an elegy for an ichneumon, which had been brought to Haverhill Academy in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1830. The long lost poem was published in the November 1902 issue of "The Independent" magazine.[51] In Christopher Smart's poem, Jubilate Agno, the poet's cat Jeoffry was praised in line 63: "For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land," for a purported attack on an Egyptian mongoose. The Sherlock Holmes canon also features an ichneumon the short story The Adventure of the Crooked Man, though due to Watson's description of its appearance and its owner's history in India it is likely to actually be an Indian grey mongoose.[52]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Do Linh San, E.; Maddock, A.H.; Gaubert, P.; Palomares, F. (2016). "Herpestes ichneumon". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T41613A45207211. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41613A45207211.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Ichneumon". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Palomares, F. (2013). "Herpestes ichneumon Egyptian Mongoose (Ichneumon)". In J. Kingdon; M. Hoffmann (eds.). The Mammals of Africa. V. Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 306−310. ISBN 978-1-4081-8996-2.
  4. ↑ Bandeira V, Virgós E, Barros T, Cunha MV, Fonseca C (2016). "Geographic variation and sexual dimorphism in body size of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon in the western limit of its European distribution". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 264: 1–10. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2016.06.001.
  5. ↑ Fredga, K. (1977). "Chromosomal Changes in Vertebrate Evolution". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 199 (1136): 377–397. Bibcode:1977RSPSB.199..377F. doi:10.1098/rspb.1977.0148. JSTOR 77302. PMID 22865. S2CID 32364326.
  6. ↑ Borralho R, Rego F, Palomares F, Hora A (1995). "The distribution of the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (L.) in Portugal". Mammal Review. 26 (25): 229−236. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1996.tb00143.x.
  7. ↑ Balmori, A.; Carbonell, R. (2012). "Expansion and distribution of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula" (PDF). Galemys. 24: 83−85. doi:10.7325/Galemys.2012.N08.
  8. ↑ Kasparek, M. (1993). "The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, in western Egypt". Zoology in the Middle East. 9 (1): 31–32.
  9. ↑ Basuony, M.I. (2000). "Herpestes ichneumon ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758)". Ecological Survey of Burullus Nature Protectorate. Mammals. Cairo: Nature Conservation Sector, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. p. 19.
  10. ↑ Albaba, I. (2016). "The terrestrial mammals of Palestine: A preliminary checklist". International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies. 3 (4): 28−35.
  11. ↑ Masseti, M. (2009). "Carnivores of Syria". ZooKeys (31): 229–252. doi:10.3897/zookeys.31.170.
  12. ↑ Özkurt, Ş.Ö. (2015). "Karyological and some morphological characteristics of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon (Mammalia: Carnivora), along with current distribution range in Turkey". Turkish Journal of Zoology. 39 (39): 482−487. doi:10.3906/zoo-1403-25.
  13. ↑ Elnaiem DA, Hassan MM, Maingon R, Nureldin GH, Mekawi AM, Miles M, Ward RD (2001). "The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, is a possible reservoir host of visceral leishmaniasis in eastern Sudan" (PDF). Parasitology. 122 (5): 531–536. doi:10.1017/s0031182001007594. PMID 11393826. S2CID 18583792.
  14. ↑ Bauer H, Mohammed AA, El Faki A, Hiwytalla KO, Bedin E, Rskay G, Sitotaw E, Sillero-Zubiri C (2018). "Antelopes of the Dinder-Alatash transboundary Protected Area, Sudan and Ethiopia" (PDF). Gnusletter. 35 (1): 26–30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  15. ↑ Yalden DW, Largen MJ, Kock D, Hillman JC (1996). "Catalogue of the Mammals of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Revised checklist, zoogeography and conservation". Tropical Zoology 9. 9 (1): 73−164. doi:10.1080/03946975.1996.10539304.
  16. ↑ Aerts, Raf (2019). Forest and woodland vegetation in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Nyssen J., Jacob, M., Frankl, A. (Eds.). Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  17. ↑ McGrew WC, Baldwin PJ, Marchant LF, Pruetz JD, Tutin CE (2014). "Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and their mammalian sympatriates: Mt. Assirik, Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal". Primates. 55 (4): 525−532. doi:10.1007/s10329-014-0434-2. PMID 24990446. S2CID 16046066.
  18. ↑ Ziegler S, Nikolaus G, Hutterer R (2002). "High mammalian diversity in the newly established National Park of Upper Niger, Republic of Guinea". Oryx. 36 (1): 73–80. doi:10.1017/s003060530200011x.
  19. ↑ Nakashima, Y. (2015). "Inventorying medium-and large-sized mammals in the African lowland rainforest using camera trapping". Tropics. 23 (4): 151–164. doi:10.3759/tropics.23.151.
  20. ↑ Henschel P, Malanda GA, Hunter L (2014). "The status of savanna carnivores in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, northern Republic of Congo". Journal of Mammalogy. 95 (4): 882–892. doi:10.1644/13-MAMM-A-306.
  21. ↑ Eltringham SK, Morley RJ, Kingdon J, Coe MJ, McWilliam NC (1999). "Checklist: Mammals of Mkomazi" (PDF). In Coe MJ (ed.). Mkomazi: The Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation of a Tanzanian Savanna. London: Royal Geographical Society, Institute of British Geographers. pp. 503–510. ISBN 978-0-907649-75-5.
  22. ↑ Cheylan, G. (1991). "Patterns of Pleistocene turnover, current distribution and speciation among Mediterranean mammals". In Groves, R. H.; Groves, R. H.; Di Castri, F. (eds.). Biogeography of Mediterranean invasions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 227−262. ISBN 978-0-521-36040-1.
  23. ↑ Detry, C.; Cardoso, J. L.; Mora, J. H.; Bustamante-Álvarez, M.; Silva, A. M.; Pimenta, J.; Fernandes, I.; Fernandes, C. (2018). "Did the Romans introduce the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) into the Iberian Peninsula?". The Science of Nature. 105 (11–12): 63. Bibcode:2018SciNa.105...63D. doi:10.1007/s00114-018-1586-5. hdl:10400.2/7699. PMID 30311012. S2CID 52964026.
  24. ↑ Gaubert, P.; Machordom, A.; Morales, A.; et al. (2011). "Comparative phylogeography of two African carnivorans presumably introduced into Europe: disentangling natural versus human-mediated dispersal across the Strait of Gibraltar". Journal of Biogeography. 38 (2): 341−358. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02406.x. hdl:10261/51540. S2CID 35131821.
  25. ↑ Estes, R. D. (1991). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates. University of California Press. pp. 298–302. ISBN 0-520-08085-8.
  26. ↑ Palomares, F.; Delibes, M. (1993). "Social organization in the Egyptian mongoose: group size, spatial behaviour and inter-individual contacts in adults". Animal Behaviour. 45 (5): 917–925. doi:10.1006/anbe.1993.1111. S2CID 53180507.
  27. ↑ Palomares, F. (1993). "Opportunistic feeding of the Egyptian mongoose, Herpertes ichneumon (L.) in Southwestern Spain". Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et la Vie). 48 (3): 295–304. doi:10.3406/revec.1993.2108. S2CID 129815558.
  28. ↑ Angelici FM (2000). "Food habits and resource partitioning of carnivores (Herpestidae, Viverridae) in the rainforests of southeastern Nigeria: preliminary results" (PDF). Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et la Vie). 55: 67–76. doi:10.3406/revec.2000.2314. S2CID 55589137.
  29. ↑ Ovadia, M.; Kochva. E. (1977). "Neutralization of Viperide and Elapidae snake venoms by sera of different animals". Toxicon. 15 (6): 541−547. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(77)90105-2. PMID 906038.
  30. ↑ Jiménez, J.; Nuñez-Arjona, J. C.; Mougeot, F.; Ferreras, P.; González, L. M.; García-Domínguez, F.; Muñoz-Igualada, J.; Palacios, M. J.; Pla, S.; Rueda, C.; Villaespesa, F. (2019). "Restoring apex predators can reduce mesopredator abundances". Biological Conservation. 238: 108234. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108234. hdl:10578/24460. S2CID 203405626.
  31. ↑ Dücker, V.G. (1960). "Beobachtungen über das Paarungsverhalten des Ichneumons (Herpestes ichneumon L.)" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 25: 47–51.
  32. ↑ Palomares, F.; Delibes, M. (1992). "Some physical and population characteristics of Egyptian mongooses (Herpertes ichneumon L., 1758) in southwestern Spain". Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 57: 94–99. hdl:10261/50822. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  33. ↑ Pacifici M, Santini L, Di Marco M, Baisero D, Francucci L, Grottolo Marasini G, Visconti P, Rondinini C (2013). "Generation length for mammals". Nature Conservation (5): 87–94.
  34. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). "Viverra ichneumon". Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. Tomus I (decima, reformata ed.). Holmiae: Laurentius Salvius. p. 41. (in Latin)
  35. ↑ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Herpestes ichneumon". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 567. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  36. ↑ Gmelin, J. F. (1788). "Viverra cafra". Caroli a Linné systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I (Editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata ed.). Leipzig: Georg Emanuel Beer. p. 85.
  37. ↑ Cuvier, F.G. (1834). "Mangouste d'Alger". Histoire naturelle des mammifères: avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'après des animaux vivans. Tome VII. Paris: Blaise. p. 68.
  38. ↑ Gray, J. E. (1842). "Description of a new species of Ichneumon (Herpestes) discovered in Spain". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 9 (55): 49−50. doi:10.1080/03745484209442954.
  39. ↑ Bocage, J.V.B. (1890). "Mammifières d'Angola et du Congo". Jornal de Sciências Mathemáticas, Physicas e Naturaes. Series 2. 2 (2): 1−32.
  40. ↑ Lönnberg, E. (1908). "Notes on some Mammals collected in the Congo Free State". Arkiv för Zoologi. 4 (16): 1−14.
  41. ↑ Osgood, W.H. (1910). "Further new mammals from British East Africa". Publications of Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series. 10: 15−21.
  42. ↑ Lönnberg, E. (1917). "Mammals collected in Central Africa by Captain E. Arrhenius". Kongliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar. 58 (2): 1−110.
  43. ↑ Cabrera, Á. (1924). "Mamíferos africanos nuevos". Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. 24 (4): 216−224. Archived from the original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  44. ↑ Roberts, A. (1926). "Some new S. African mammals and some changes in nomenclature". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 11 (4): 245−267.
  45. ↑ Roberts, A. (1932). "Preliminary description of fifty-seven new forms of South African mammals". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 15 (1): 1−19.
  46. ↑ Illiger, C. D. (1811). "Genus Herpestes". Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium additis terminis zoographicis uttriusque classis. Berlin: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 135.
  47. 1 2 Yom-Tov, Y. (2003). "Poaching of Israeli wildlife by guest workers" (PDF). Biological Conservation. 110 (1): 11−20. doi:10.1016/s0006-3207(02)00169-6.
  48. ↑ Djagoun, C. A. M. S.; Gaubert, P. (2009). "Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure". Small Carnivore Conservation (40): 1–10.
  49. ↑ Nicholson, P.T.; Ikram, S. & Mills, S.F. (2015). "The Catacombs of Anubis at North Saqqara" (PDF). Antiquity. 89 (345): 645−661. doi:10.15184/aqy.2014.53. S2CID 53539966.
  50. ↑ Evans, L. (2017). "Beasts and Beliefs at Beni Hassan: A Preliminary Report". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 52: 219−229. doi:10.5913/jarce.52.2016.a013.
  51. ↑ Whittier, J. G. (1902). "The Dead Ichneumon". The Independent. Vol. 54, no. 2816. New York City. pp. 2746–2747.
  52. ↑ Conan Doyle, Arthur (1893). The Adventure of the Crooked Man. A. L. Burt Company. "It's a mongoose," I cried. "Well, some call them that, and some call them ichneumon," said the man. "Snake-catcher is what I call them, and Teddy is amazing quick on cobras. I have one here without the fangs, and Teddy catches it every night to please the folk in the canteen.
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