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Ichneumia albicauda G. [Baron] Cuvier, 1829

Order: Carnivora > Family: Herpestidae > Genus: Ichneumia > Species: Ichneumia albicauda G. [Baron] Cuvier, 1829

Common Name: White-tailed Mongoose [English]

Type Description

Regn. Anim., Nouv. ed. 2, 1:158.

Type Locality

'l'Afrique australe et le Sénégal'.

Measurements

Head and body: 530-710 mm
Tail length: 400-470 mm
Hindfoot length: 100-123 mm
Weight: 2.6-5.2 kg

Description

Ichneumia lives in a variety of habitats and is recognizable by the thick bushy white tail (although other coat colorations have been documented).

Distribution

Widespread throughout Africa south of the Sahara excluding the rainforests and the southwest, Ichneumia albicauda flourishes in grassy savannas and clearings, tropical woodlands, cultivation, suburbia and ranchlands up to 2,500 m. (Kingdon, 1989, 1997)

Key References

1. Kingdon, J. 1989. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Carnivores). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 3A:232-236. 2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 252-253.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:766-768, 780-781.
4. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.