Pousargues's mongoose (''Dologale dybowskii''), also known as the African tropical savannah mongoose, is a

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 ...

native to

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

. It is listed as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

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 ...

as little is known about its distribution and ecology. It is the only species in the genus ''Dologale''. Up to the late 20th century, it was known from only around 30

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 in

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

collections.

Characteristics

The Pousargues's mongoose is brown with a grey belly and face. Its tail is bushy, and its front feet have strong claws. Its body length is between with a long tail.

Taxonomy

Crossarchus dybowskii (Pousargues, 1893) - illustration originale

In 1893,

Eugène de Pousargues Eugène de Pousargues (21 October 1859 – 24 January 1901) was a French zoologist born in Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais). From 1885 he was an assistant to Alphonse Milne-Edwards (1835–1900), and served as préparateur at the ''Laboratoire de Mammal ...

first described the Pousargues's mongoose on the basis of

s collected in 1892 near the

Kémo River Kémo is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Sibut. Notable people * Andrée Blouin, political activist, human rights advocate, and writer See also * Lake Chad replenishment project * Waterway ...

. The type locality corresponds to the former French garrison founded by the Dybowski Mission close to the settlement of Fort de Possel. It is named in honor of

Jean Dybowski Jean Thadée Emmanuel Dybowski (18 April 1856 – 18 December 1928) was a French agronomist, naturalist and explorer of Polish heritage born in Charonne, Paris. He was the cousin of the Polish naturalists Benedykt Dybowski and Władysław Dybows ...

who collected the specimens. It was initially subordinated to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Crossarchus ''Crossarchus'' is a mongoose genus, commonly referred to as kusimanse, often cusimanse, mangue, or dwarf mongoose. They are placed in the subfamily Mungotinae, which are small, highly social mongooses. Range and habitat Members of this genus ar ...

'', but was later moved to its own genus, ''Dologale''. A genetic study focused on

Carnivora Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...

highlighted the Pousargues's mongoose to be the sister-species of the genus ''

Helogale ''Helogale'' is a genus of the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It consists of two species and 12 subspecies: Extant Species The helogales are the smallest species of mongooses and both are endemic to Africa. The distribution of the Ethiopian ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

The Pousargues's mongoose ranges from northern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

to western

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 ...

. Mongooses sighted and recorded by a camera-trap in 2011 and 2012 in the Central African Republic were preliminarily identified as Pousargues's mongoose. In 2013, a group of Pousargues's mongooses was observed near Lake Albert in Uganda's

Semliki Wildlife Reserve The Semliki Wildlife Reserve is a conservation protected area in the Western Region of Uganda with headquarters at Karugutu in Ntoroko District. Geography Semliki Wildlife Reserve is located in Kabarole and Ntoroko districts, in the Toro sub ...

. In 2016, an individual was observed and photographed in

Garamba National Park Garamba National Park is a nearly national park in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is among Africa's oldest parks, and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for norther ...

Conservation

Field research for the collection of basic data on its ecology is indispensable for designing adequate conservation measures.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1537751

Pousargues's mongoose Pousargues's mongoose (''Dologale dybowskii''), also known as the African tropical savannah mongoose, is a mongoose native to Central Africa. It is listed as data deficient on the IUCN Red List as little is known about its distribution and ecology ...

Mammals of the Central African Republic Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of South Sudan Mammals of Uganda