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The stripe-necked mongoose (''Urva vitticolla'') is a
It is rusty brown to grizzled grey, has a stout body and short legs, a black stripe that runs laterally on both sides of its neck. Its short tail is mostly black, but grey at the base. Head to body length is 46-50 cm with tail length of 32 cm. Males are larger and heavier than females with the weight of 3.1 kg. Females weigh about 1.7 kg.
The stripe-necked mongoose is distributed in the Western Ghats and in Sri Lanka.
In 1911, one individual was observed in southern
It is diurnal and feeds on frogs, crabs, mouse deer, black naped hares, rodents, fowl, and reptiles. It generally avoids human habitation. They usually inhabit in riparian habitats or near abandoned tanks. In Sri Lanka, they are sparsely found within protected ranges such as national parks and sanctuaries. However, populations are commonly found over 2000 m altitude. Even though reproduction habits are unclear, pups have been noticed in mid-May.
mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
native to forests and shrublands from southern India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...
to Sri Lanka.
Characteristics
It is rusty brown to grizzled grey, has a stout body and short legs, a black stripe that runs laterally on both sides of its neck. Its short tail is mostly black, but grey at the base. Head to body length is 46-50 cm with tail length of 32 cm. Males are larger and heavier than females with the weight of 3.1 kg. Females weigh about 1.7 kg.
Distribution and habitat
The stripe-necked mongoose is distributed in the Western Ghats and in Sri Lanka.
In 1911, one individual was observed in southern Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
.
Behaviour and ecology
It is diurnal and feeds on frogs, crabs, mouse deer, black naped hares, rodents, fowl, and reptiles. It generally avoids human habitation. They usually inhabit in riparian habitats or near abandoned tanks. In Sri Lanka, they are sparsely found within protected ranges such as national parks and sanctuaries. However, populations are commonly found over 2000 m altitude. Even though reproduction habits are unclear, pups have been noticed in mid-May.
Taxonomy
There are two subspecies. ''U. vitticolla vitticolla'' is from the provinces of Western Ghats, Coorg and Kerala, and has more of a reddish tint to its fur. The other, ''U. vitticolla inornata'', is found in the Kanara province, and lacks a reddish tint to its fur.See also
*Indian grey mongoose
The Indian 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, scrublands and cultivated fields ...
* Ruddy mongoose
The ruddy mongoose (''Urva smithii'') is a mongoose species native to hill forests in India and Sri Lanka.
Description
The ruddy mongoose's fur is brownish and coarse, long in hindquarters, but short in other parts of the body. Its head to body ...
References
*Pocock, R.I. (1941). The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia, 2nd Edition, 2. Taylor & Francis, London, U.K. * Prater, S. H. (1971). The Book of Indian Animals – 3rd Edition.Bombay Natural History Society. Oxford University Press, Bombay, 324pp. * Corbet, G.B. & J.E. Hill (1992). Mammals of the Indo-Malayan Region: A Systematic Review. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. * Van Rompaey, H. & Jayakumar, M. N. (2003). The Stripe-necked Mongoose, ''Herpestes vitticollis''. Small Carnivore Conservation 28: 14–17. * Mudappa, D. (2013). Herpestids, viverrids and mustelids, pp. 471–498. In: Johnsingh, A.J.T. & N. Manjrekar (eds.). Mammals of South Asia -1. Universities Press, Hyderabad, India. * Menon, V. (2014). Indian Mammals - A Field Guide. Hachette India, Gurgaon, India, 528pp. * Sreehari, R. & P.O. Nameer (2016). Small carnivores of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, southern Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(11): 9306–9315; https://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2311.8.11.9306-9315 * Nayak, A.K., M.V. Nair & P.P. Mohapatra (2014). Stripe-necked Mongoose ''Herpestes vitticollis'' in Odisha, eastern India: A biogeographically significant record. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 71–73. {{Taxonbar, from=Q735968 stripe-necked mongoose Mammals of India Mammals of Sri Lanka Fauna of South India stripe-necked mongoose Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN