long-nosed mongoose
{{short description|Species of mongoose from Central Africa}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Long-nosed mongoose
| image = Long-nosed mongoose (without bg).png
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| parent_authority = Allen, 1919
| genus = Xenogale
| species = naso{{cite journal |author=de Winton, W. E. |year=1901 |title=Description of a New Mongoose from West Africa |journal=Bulletin of the Liverpool Museums Under the City Council |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=35–37 |url=https://archive.org/details/bulletinofliverp01forb/page/n403/mode/2up}}{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000621 |heading=Species Herpestes naso |page=569}}
| authority = (de Winton, 1901)
| range_map = Long-nosed Mongoose area.png
| range_map_caption = Long-nosed mongoose range
}}
The long-nosed mongoose (Xenogale naso) is a mongoose native to Central African wetlands and rainforests. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 1996. Although formerly classified in Herpestes, more recent studies indicate that it belongs in the monotypic taxon Xenogale.{{Cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Y. |last2=Wang |first2=S.-R. |last3=Ma |first3=J.-Z. |date=2017 |title=Comprehensive species set revealing the phylogeny and biogeography of Feliformia (Mammalia, Carnivora) based on mitochondrial DNA |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=3 |page=e0174902 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0174902 |pmc=5373635 |pmid=28358848 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1274902Z |doi-access=free}}{{Cite taxon |asm |title=Xenogale naso (de Winton, 1901) |id=1006059 |access-date=2021-07-08}}
Distribution and habitat
The long-nosed mongoose is native to wetlands and rainforests from the Niger Delta in Nigeria, Cameroon to the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has been recorded from sea level up to an elevation of {{cvt|640|m}}.
Behaviour and ecology
The long-nose mongoose is usually solitary and lives in a home range of {{cvt|41|-|46|ha}}. It moves up to {{cvt|4600|m}} daily in this area foraging for food. It chooses different locations as night-time resting places.{{cite journal |author=Ray, J. C. |year=1997 |title=Comparative ecology of two African forest mongooses, Herpestes naso and Atilax paludinosus |journal=African Journal of Ecology |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages= 237–253|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2028.1997.086-89086.x |bibcode=1997AfJEc..35..237R}}
Threats
The long-nosed mongoose's habitat is fragmented because of logging, mining, and slash-and-burn agricultural practices.
In Gabon, it is hunted for sale in bushmeat markets.{{Cite journal |last=Bahaa-el-din, L. |last2=Henschel, P. |last3=Aba’a, R. |last4=Abernethy, K. |last5=Bohm, T. |last6=Bout, N. |last7=Coad, L. |last8=Head, J. |last9=Inoue, E. |last10=Lahm, S. |last11=Lee, M. E. |last12=Maisels, F. |last13=Rabanal, L. |last14=Starkey, M. |last15=Taylor, G. |year=2013 |title=Notes on the distribution and status of small carnivores in Gabon |url=https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/19524/1/Small%20Carnivore%20Conservation%202013.pdf |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |issue=48 |pages=19–29 |author16=Vanthomme, A. |author17=Nakashima, Y. |author18=Hunter, L.}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Carnivora|F.}}
{{Feliformia|Her.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q764948}}
Category:Mammals described in 1901