Jackson's mongoose (''Bdeogale jacksoni'') is a mongoose

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 montane forests in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in 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*) territor ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. It appears to be rare and has been classified as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

since 2008. Its long and dense fur is grizzled black and white. The cheeks, throat and sides of the neck are yellowish. The legs are dark brown or black, and the bushy tail is white. With a head and body length of more than and a body weight of , it is a large mongoose. It is mainly nocturnal and

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...

and possibly solitary. It feeds on

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

Taxonomy

''Galeriscus jacksoni'' was the

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

proposed by

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

in 1894 based on a skin of a badger-like animal collected by

Frederick John Jackson Sir Frederick John Jackson, (17 February 1860 – 3 February 1929) was an English administrator, explorer and ornithologist. Early years Jackson was born at Oran Hall, near Catterick, North Yorkshire in 1860. He attended Shrewsbury School ...

in Kenya. He specified the type locality as Mianzini in

Maasailand The Maasai (; sw, Wamasai) are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting northern, central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best-known local populations internationally due to their residence near the many game parks of t ...

at an elevation of . The generic name ''Galeriscus'' was recognised as a valid

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

by Paul Matschie, Glover Morrill Allen and Donovan Reginald Rosevear. Jackson's mongoose was placed in the genus '' Bdeogale'' by

Reginald Innes Pocock Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British zoologist. Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward ...

in 1916, who recognised that the animal was a mongoose and considered ''Galeriscus'' a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Bdeogale''. This classification has been widely followed.

Characteristics

Jackson's mongoose is silvery grey with yellowish cheeks, throat and sides of the neck, a grizzled grey crown, but a brownish white muzzle and chin and a few brown hairs around the eyes. Its round ears are grizzled grey outside and yellowish inside. Its belly is light grey, its legs blackish brown or black, and the tip of the tail white. The dorsal hair is long with black and white rings, and it has dense and woolly underfur. The muzzle is blunt. The rhinarium is large, and the hairless extension of the median groove divides the upper lip. The fore and hind feet have only four digits without hallux and pollex. The soles are naked, and the claws are thick and strong. It is a large mongoose with a head and body length of and a long bushy tail. Its hind foot is long and its ear long. It weighs . The dental formula is , with three incisors, one canine, four

premolar The premolars, also called premolar teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant in the permanent set of teeth, making eight premolars total in the mouth ...

s and two molars on either side of the jaw. Young but already breeding animals may be markedly smaller than adults. From the black-footed mongoose, it is distinguishable by its much longer fur, especially on the tail, and yellowish tints on neck and throat.

Distribution and habitat

Jackson's mongoose is distributed in central and southern Kenya and southeastern Uganda, where it was recorded in the Aberdare Range,

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...

and the

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

mountains at elevations from . It inhabits lowland forests,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

and

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s. In Tanzania's Udzungwa Mountains, it was first recorded in 2002 in the Matundu Forest.

Behaviour and ecology

Jackson's mongoose is mainly

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and

. In the Udzungwa Mountains, most of the 25 camera trap photos were taken by night. It is possibly solitary, but was also recorded in pairs and occasionally in groups of four. Nothing is known about its

reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual or ...

. It probably hunts frequently in the thick

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

vegetation around

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s. It is an

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutr ...

. Analysis of 40

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

samples collected in the Aberdare Mountains revealed that they contained remains of army ants,

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...

s, millipedes and

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s including '' Otomys'', ''

Dasymys ''Dasymys'' is a genus of semiaquatic rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice. The genus is endemic to Africa.

'' and '' Praomys'', as well as

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...

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, and

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

eggs. The diet of juveniles consisted foremost of rodents and insects. Feeding on army ants may be a recent evolutionary

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

to this diet.

Conservation

Jackson's mongoose occurs in isolated populations and appears to be rare. It has been listed as

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

since 2008, assuming a declining population size within the last 10 years due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. Given its dependence on forest habitat, its main threat is likely to be ongoing forest loss. It has been recorded in

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s such Aberdare National Park, Mount Kenya National Park and

Udzungwa Mountains National Park Udzungwa Mountains National Park is a national park in Tanzania with a size of 1,990 km2 (770 miles2). The habitats contained within the national park include tropical rainforest, mountain forest, miombo woodland, grassland and steppe. There ...

. It is suspected to also live in

Mount Elgon National Park Mount Elgon National Park is a national park northeast of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of and is bisected by the border of Kenya and Uganda. The Ugandan part of the park covers while the Kenyan part covers . The Kenyan part of the p ...

and probably more widely distributed than currently known. Full protection of forests adjacent to the Udzungwa Mountains National Park and a survey in other groundwater-dependent forests in the region has been recommended.

References

External links

''Bdeogale jacksoni''
on Mammals of Tanzania—with photos of animal and skull {{Taxonbar, from=Q1583150

Jackson's mongoose Jackson's mongoose (''Bdeogale jacksoni'') is a mongoose species native to montane forests in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It appears to be rare and has been classified as Near Threatened since 2008. Its long and dense fur is grizzled black and w ...

Mammals of Kenya Mammals of Uganda