''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 In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. Fossil remains of three

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

species were excavated in France, and described in 1853.

Characteristics

The living ''Herpestes'' species are sexually dimorphic, with females smaller than males. They range in weight from . They share several characteristics, including the shape of the

cheek teeth Cheek teeth or post-canines comprise the molar and premolar teeth in mammals. Cheek teeth are multicuspidate (having many folds or tubercles). Mammals have multicuspidate molars (three in placentals, four in marsupials, in each jaw quadrant) and ...

and of the

tympanic bulla The tympanic part of the temporal bone is a curved plate of bone lying below the squamous part of the temporal bone, in front of the mastoid process, and surrounding the external part of the ear canal. It originates as a separate bone (tympanic ...

e, and the presence of the first upper

molar teeth The molars or molar teeth are large, flat teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammals. They are used primarily to grind food during chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ''molaris dens'', meaning "millstone to ...

. They are all solitary. Males have one chromosome less than females, as one Y chromosome is translocated to an

autosome An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. The members of an autosome pair in a diploid cell have the same morphology, unlike those in allosome, allosomal (sex chromosome) pairs, which may have different structures. The DNA in au ...

Classification

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 ...

''Herpestes'' was proposed by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger in 1811 for mongoose species in the south of the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

, commonly called "Ichneumon" at the time. Until 1835, 12 mongoose species from Africa and Asia were classified as belonging to the genus ''Herpestes''. In 1864, John Edward Gray listed 22 ''Herpestes'' species, which he considered as part of the Viverridae. In 1882,

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 ...

reviewed African mongoose zoological specimens in natural history museums. He subordinated those into the genus ''Herpestes'' that have nearly naked soles, 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, small last lower molars with two external cusps and whose last upper molars are 40-60% smaller than the last upper premolars. His list comprised eight species in Africa.

St. George Jackson Mivart St. George Jackson Mivart (30 November 1827 – 1 April 1900) was an English biologist. He is famous for starting as an ardent believer in natural selection who later became one of its fiercest critics. Mivart attempted to reconcile D ...

listed 21 ''Herpestes'' species, including seven in Africa and 13 in Asia. He also determined ''Herpestes'' species by the

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

of mongoose specimens. His criteria included small premolars, small inner cusps of the third upper premolars and transversely extended second upper molars with rather concave posterior margins; their bodies are long with long tails, short legs and five digits to each paw.

Wallace Christopher Wozencraft Wallace Christopher Wozencraft (1954–2007) was an American zoologist, specialising in smaller carnivorous mammals. He was professor of biology at Bethel College (Indiana), and chaired the committee on carnivorous mammals at the International Union ...

recognised 10 ''Herpestes'' species as valid in 2005. The extinct ''

Herpestes lemanensis ''Herpestes lemanensis'' is an extinct mongoose species that was excavated in Tertiary Deposition (geology), depositions in France and described by Auguste Pomel in 1853. Its body size equals a large Indian civet, but its dentition resembles that ...

'' was excavated in tertiary depositions in the Loire Valley in central France and described in 1853. It most likely dates to the Late Oligocene. Phylogenetic analysis of African and Asian mongoose specimens revealed that they belong to three distinct genetic lineages; the two African lineages diverged in the Early Miocene around and , and the Asian ''Urva'' lineage at around . The following African mongooses are now placed in the genus ''Herpestes'':

References

Taxa named by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammal genera {{carnivora-stub