Suricata major
{{Short description|Extinct species of mongoose}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = Early Pleistocene
| extinct = yes
| genus = Suricata
| species = major
| authority = Hendey, 1974{{cite book |last1=Avery |first1=D. Margaret |title=A Fossil History of Southern African Land Mammals |date=2019 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108480888 |page=104}}
}}
Suricata major is an extinct species of meerkat from the Early Pleistocene of Africa.
Description
Material from this species has been found at the Elandsfontein fossil site in South Africa.{{cite book |last1=Werdelin |first1=Lars |last2=Sanders |first2=William Joseph |title=Cenozoic Mammals of Africa |date=2010 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520257214 |page=631}}{{cite journal |last1=Fourvel |first1=Jean-Baptiste |title=Civettictis braini nov. sp. (Mammalia: Carnivora), a new viverrid from the hominin-bearing site of Kromdraai (Gauteng, South Africa) |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |date=2018 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=366–377 |doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2017.11.005 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018CRPal..17..366F }} Suricata major was larger than the living meerkat, and appears to be intermediate in form between it and Mungos species. Compared to the modern meerkat, its upper cheekteeth were larger and its post-orbital process less well developed.{{cite journal |last1=van Staaden |first1=Moira J. |title=Suricata suricata |journal=Mammalian Species |date=1994 |volume=483 |issue=1 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.2307/3504085 |jstor=3504085 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270212558}}