The Javan mongoose (''Urva javanica'') is a
mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
native to Southeast Asia.
[
]
Taxonomy
''Ichneumon javanicus'' was the scientific name
In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
proposed by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (; 15 April 177219 June 1844) was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theorie ...
in 1818. It was later classified in the genus ''Herpestes
''Herpestes'' is a genus within the mongoose family Herpestidae. Several species in the family are known as slender mongooses. It is the type genus of the family, and comprises 5-6 living species, each with several subspecies.
Fossil remains of t ...
'', but all Asian mongooses are now thought to belong in the genus '' Urva''.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, several zoological specimen
A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use.
Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology.
Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...
s were described, which are now considered subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
:
*''Herpestes exilis'' by Paul Gervais
Paul Gervais (full name: François Louis Paul Gervais) (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist.
Biography
Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medic ...
in 1841 was a specimen from Tourane
Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the HĂ n River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...
in Vietnam.
*''Herpestes rafflesii'' by John Anderson in 1875 was a specimen from Sumatra.
*''Mungos rubifrons'' by Joel Asaph Allen
Joel Asaph Allen (July 19, 1838 – August 29, 1921) was an American zoology, zoologist, mammalogy, mammalogist, and ornithology, ornithologist. He became the first president of the American Ornithologists' Union, the first curator of birds and ma ...
in 1909 were eight adult specimens collected around Wuzhi Mountain
Wuzhi Mountain () is the highest mountain in Hainan, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by ...
in Hainan Island
Hainan is an island province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea ...
, China.
*''Mungos exilis peninsulae'' by Ernst Schwarz in 1910 was a skin and a skull of a mongoose collected in Bangkok.
*''Mungos siamensis'' by Cecil Boden Kloss
Cecil Boden Kloss (28 March 1877–19 August 1949) was an English zoologist. He was an expert on the mammals and birds of Southeast Asia. The Rubiaceae genus '' Klossia'' was named after him.
Kloss was born in a family of Dutch descent who live ...
in 1917 was a skin of an adult female mongoose collected in northern Thailand.
*''Mungos parakensis'' by Kloss in 1917 was a skin and a skull of an adult female mongoose from the vicinity of Taiping, Perak
Taiping () is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town, Penang. With a population of 245,18 ...
in Peninsular Malaysia.
*''Herpestes javanicus tjerapai'' by Henri Jacob Victor Sody
Henri Jacob Victor Sody (31 August 1892 - 16 January 1959) was a Dutch agronomist and mammalogist born in The Hague. He died in Amsterdam in 1959. He is recognized for his contributions to the taxonomy of Indonesian mammals and some birds, as well ...
in 1949 was an adult male mongoose collected in Aceh Province
Aceh ( , ; , Jawoë: ; Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the wes ...
, Sumatra.
The small Indian mongoose
The small Indian mongoose (''Urva auropunctata'') is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern India; it has also been introduced to several Caribbean and Pacific islands.
Taxonomy
''Mangusta auropunctata'' was the scientific name proposed ...
(''U. auropunctata'') was once considered to be a subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of the Javan mongoose.
Genetic analysis of hair and tissue samples from 18 Javan and small Indian mongooses revealed that they form two clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
s and are distinct species. The Salween River
The Salween is a Southeast Asian river, about long, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau south into the Andaman Sea. The Salween flows primarily within southwest China and eastern Myanmar, with a short section forming the border of Myanmar and Tha ...
in Myanmar is probably a barrier between the two species.
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
of ''Urva'' species revealed that the Javan mongoose forms a sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
with the Indian grey mongoose
The Indian grey mongoose or Asian grey mongoose (''Urva edwardsii'') is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrubland ...
(''U. edwardsii''). The Javan mongoose probably evolved about in the middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene.
The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...
.
Description
The Javan mongoose's fur is ferruginous to sepia and rich tawny brown on the back.[ It has short hairs on the ears. Its tail is tapering.][
]
Distribution and habitat
The Javan mongoose is native to Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, Peninsular Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
and Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
, where it lives up to an elevation of . Its presence is uncertain in China.
In Thailand, the Javan mongoose was photographed by camera trap
A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor or an active infrared ...
s in a variety of habitats, including degraded mixed deciduous forest
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...
, dry evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...
and dry dipterocarp
Dipterocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants with 22 genera and about 695 known species of mainly lowland tropical forest trees. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India, Indochina, Indo ...
forests, as well as in abandoned plantations and pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae.
The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...
fields.
Invasive species
In Europe, this species has been included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern. This means that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.
Behaviour and ecology
The Javan mongoose is mostly solitary; males sometimes form social groups and share burrows. Females are pregnant for up to 49 days and give birth to a litter of 2–5 young. Males can potentially become sexually mature
Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans, it is related to both puberty and adulthood. ''Puberty'' is the biological process of sexual maturation, while ''adulthood'', the condition of being socially recognized as ...
at the age of 4 months.
Javan mongooses eat mostly insects but are opportunistic feeders and will eat crabs, frogs, spiders, scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
s, snakes, small mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s, birds, and egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
s.
Threats
In Sumatra, the Javan mongoose is wild-caught for the pet trade. It was the most commonly offered species at wildlife markets in Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
during surveys between 1997 and 2001. Despite being hunted heavily in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, it is commonly seen in suburban areas.[
]
References
Further reading
{{Taxonbar, from=Q600530
Urva (genus)
Mammals of Southeast Asia
Carnivorans of Malaysia
Mammals described in 1818
Articles containing video clips
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN