The common dwarf mongoose (''Helogale parvula'') is a mongoose species native to Angola, northern Namibia, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, Zambia and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. It is part of the genus '' Helogale'', along with the

Ethiopian dwarf mongoose The Ethiopian dwarf mongoose (''Helogale hirtula''), also known as the desert dwarf mongoose or Somali dwarf mongoose, is a mongoose native to East Africa, particularly Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝� ...

Characteristics

The common dwarf mongoose has soft fur ranging from yellowish red to very dark brown. It has a large pointed head, small ears, a long tail, short limbs and long claws. With a body length of and a weight of , it is Africa's smallest member of the order Carnivora.

Distribution and habitat

The common dwarf mongoose ranges from East to southern Central Africa, from

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and Ethiopia to the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the Republic of South Africa. The common dwarf mongoose inhabits primarily dry grassland, open forests and bushland up to an elevation of . It is especially common in areas with many termite mounds, its favorite sleeping place. It avoids dense forests and deserts.

Subspecies

*''Helogale parvula parvula'' *''Helogale parvula ivori'' *''Helogale parvula mimetra'' *''Helogale parvula nero'' *''Helogale parvula ruficeps'' *''Helogale parvula undulatus'' *''Helogale parvula varia''

Behaviour

The common dwarf mongoose is a diurnal animal. It is a highly social species that lives in extended family groups of two to thirty animals. There is a strict

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

among same-sexed animals within a group, headed by the dominant pair (normally the oldest group members). All group members cooperate in helping to rear the pups and in guarding the group from predators. Young mongooses attain sexual maturity by one year of age but delay dispersal, with males usually emigrating (in the company of their brothers) at 2–3 years old. Dispersing males may join other established groups, either as subordinates or by ousting the resident males, or they may found new groups with unrelated dispersing females. In contrast, females normally remain in their home group for life, queuing for the dominant position. They will, however, emigrate to found a new group if they lose their place in the hierarchy to a younger sister. Dwarf mongooses are territorial, and each group uses an area of approximately 30-60 hectares (depending on the type of habitat). They sleep at night in disused termite mounds, although they occasionally use piles of stones, hollow trees, etc. The mongooses mark their territory with anal gland and cheek gland secretions and latrines. Territories often overlap slightly, which can lead to confrontations between different groups, with the larger group tending to win. Dwarf mongooses tend to breed during the wet season, between October and April, raising up to three litters. Usually only the group's dominant female becomes pregnant, and she is responsible for 80% of the pups reared by the group. If conditions are good, subordinate females may also become pregnant, but their pups rarely survive. After the gestation period of 53 days, 4-6 young are born. They remain below ground within a termite mound for the first 2–3 weeks. Normally one or more members of the group stay behind to babysit while the group goes foraging. Subordinate females often produce milk to feed the dominant female's pups. At 4 weeks of age the pups begin accompanying the group. All group members help to provide them with prey items until they are around 10 weeks old. A mutualistic relationship has evolved between dwarf mongooses and

hornbill Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family (biology), family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a Casque (an ...

s, in which hornbills seek out the mongooses in order for the two species to forage together, and to warn each other of nearby raptors and other predators.Anne O, Rasa E (1983). "Dwarf mongoose and hornbill mutualism in the Taru desert, Kenya." ''Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology'' 12 (3): 181–90.

Diet

The diet of the common dwarf mongoose consists of insects (mainly beetle larvae, termites,

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

s and crickets), spiders, scorpions, small

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s, snakes, small birds, and rodents, and is supplemented very occasionally with berries.

Publications

* Anne Rasa: ''Mongoose Watch: A Family Observed'', John Murray, 1985, . * Anne Rasa: ''Intra-familial sexual repression in the dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula)'' in ''Naturwissenschaften'', Volume 60, Number 6, p. 303-304, Springer, 1973.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q743563 common dwarf mongoose Mammals of Sub-Saharan Africa Mammals of Angola Mammals of Botswana Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of Ethiopia Mammals of West Africa Mammals of Kenya Mammals of Malawi Mammals of Mozambique Mammals of Namibia Mammals of Somalia Mammals of South Africa Mammals of South Sudan Mammals of Eswatini Mammals of Tanzania Mammals of Uganda Mammals of Zambia common dwarf mongoose