Short-tailed mongoose

{{short description|Species of mongoose from Southeast Asia}}

{{speciesbox

| name = Short-tailed mongoose

| image = Herpestes brachyurus.jpg

| status = NT

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |title=Herpestes brachyurus |name-list-style=amp |author=Duckworth, J. W. |author2=Mathai, J. |author3=Ross, J. |author4=Wilting, A. |author5= |year=2016 |page=e.T41610A45206655}}

| genus = Urva

| species = brachyura

| authority = (Gray, 1837)

| range_map = Short-tailed Mongoose area.png

| range_map_caption = Short-tailed mongoose range

| synonyms = Herpestes brachyurus

}}

The short-tailed mongoose (Urva brachyura) is a mongoose species native to Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. It inhabits evergreen forest and rural gardens from sea level to an elevation of {{convert|1500|m|abbr=on}}. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2008.

It was first described by John Edward Gray in 1837.{{cite journal |author=Gray, J. E. |year=1837 |title=Description of some or little known Mammalia, principally in the British Museum Collection |journal=The Magazine of Natural History and Journal of Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology and Meteorology |volume=I |issue=November |pages=577–587 |url=https://archive.org/details/magazineofnatura101837loud/page/578}}

It is red-brown to black and has black limbs. The head is grayish with a black spot on the chin. Its total body length is {{convert|60-65|cm|abbr=on}} including a {{convert|25|cm|abbr=on}} short tail. It weighs about {{convert|1.4|kg|abbr=on}}.{{cn|date=December 2019}}