small Indian mongoose

Mangusta auropunctata was the scientific name proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1836 for a mongoose specimen collected in central Nepal.{{cite journal |author1=Hodgson, B. H. |year=1836 |title=Synoptical description of sundry new animals, enumerated in the Catalogue of Nipalese Mammals |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |volume=5 |issue=52 |pages=231–238 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiatic05asia/page/231}}

In the 19th and 20th centuries, several zoological specimens were described:

• Mangusta pallipes proposed by Edward Blyth in 1845 was based on mongooses observed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.{{cite journal |author1=Blyth, E. |year=1845 |title=Additions and corrections to Rough notes on the Zoology of Candahar and the neighbouring districts by Thomas Hutton |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |volume=15 |issue=170 |pages=169–170 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiatic15asia/page/169}}
• Herpestes palustris proposed by R. K. Ghose in 1965 was an adult male mongoose collected in a swamp on the eastern fringe of Kolkata, India.{{cite journal |author1=Ghose, R. K. |year=1965 |title=A new species of mongoose (Mammalia: Carnivora: Viverridae) from West Bengal, India |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of Calcutta |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=173–178}}

The small Indian mongoose was later classified in the genus Herpestes; all Asian mongooses are now classified the genus Urva.{{Cite web |title=Urva auropunctata (Hodgson, 1836) |url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#genus=Urva&species=auropunctata&id=1006050 |access-date=2021-07-08 |website=ASM Mammal Diversity}}

The small Indian mongoose was once considered a subspecies of the Javan mongoose (H. javanicus).{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000608 |page=567–570 |heading=Species Herpestes javanicus}}

Genetic analysis of hair and tissue samples from 18 small Indian and Javan mongooses revealed that they form two clades and are distinct species.{{cite journal |author1=Veron, G. |author2=Patou, M.L. |author3=Pothet, G. |author4=Simberloff, D. |author5=Jennings, A.P. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Systematic status and biogeography of the Javan and small Indian mongooses (Herpestidae, Carnivora) |journal=Zoologica Scripta |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages= 1–10 |doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00261.x |s2cid=84419834 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230280673}}

The small Indian mongoose's body is slender, and the head is elongated with a pointed snout. The length of the head and body is {{cvt|509|-|671|mm}}. The ears are short. The feet have five toes and long claws. Sexes differ in size, with males having a wider head and bigger bodies.{{cite journal |author=Nellis, D. W. |year=1989 |title=Herpestes auropunctatus |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=342 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.2307/3504091 |jstor=3504091}}

It can be distinguished from the often sympatric Indian grey mongoose (U. edwardsii) by its somewhat smaller size. Populations on islands throughout the world have increased in size and sexual dimorphism, resembling populations in the east of their range, where they have no ecological competitors.{{cite journal |author1=Simberloff, D. |author2=Dayan, T. |author3=Jones, C. |author4=Ogura, G. |name-list-style=amp |title=Character displacement and release in the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes javanicus |year=2000 |journal=Ecology |volume=81 |issue=8 |pages=2086–2099 |doi=10.2307/177098 |jstor=177098 |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/dayan_files/articles/javanicus.pdf}}

Introduced populations show genetic diversification due to genetic drift and isolation.{{cite journal |volume=15 |pages=3947–3956 |title=Genetic divergence in the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), a widely distributed invasive species |year=2006 |journal=Molecular Ecology |author=Thulin, C.G. |author2=Simberloff, D. |author3=Barun, A. |author4=McCracken, G. |author5=Pascal, M. |author6=Anwarul Islam, M. |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03084.x |pmid=17054495 |issue=13 |s2cid=27623208}}

The small Indian mongoose is distributed in Iraq through southeastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It has been introduced to several European countries, islands in the Caribbean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and on Okinawa in southern Japan. It lives at elevations of up to {{cvt|2100|m}}.

In Iraq, the small Indian mongoose lives in the alluvial plains of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, where it inhabits riverine thickets, crop fields and orchards.{{cite book |author=Hatt, R.T. |year=1959 |title=The Mammals of Iraq |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |publisher=Museum of Zoology |series=106 |chapter=Biotic Provinces of Iraq |pages=13–16}} It was also observed in the Hammar Marshes.{{cite thesis |author=Abass, A.F. |year=2013 |title=The relative abundance and biological indicators of mammals' community in east Hammar |location=Basra, Iraq |publisher=University of Basra, Iraq |type=M.Sc. Thesis}}

In Iran, it was recorded only in a few localities in the south and east, in particular in Kerman Province.{{cite journal |author1=Karami, M. |author2=Hutterer, R. |author3=Benda, P. |author4=Siahsarvie, R. |author5=Kryštufek, B. |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |title=Annotated check-list of the mammals of Iran |journal=Lynx |series=Nova |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=63–102}}

In Pakistan, it occurs on the Pothohar Plateau, in Sialkot District, southeastern Azad Jammu and Kashmir and in Margalla Hills National Park.{{cite journal |author1=Mahmood, T. |author2=Nadeem, M.S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2011 |title=Population estimates, habitat preference and the diet of small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) in Potohar Plateau, Pakistan |journal=Pakistan Journal of Zoology |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=103–111}}{{cite journal |author1=Mahmood, T. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Adil, A. |year=2017 |title=Diet composition of small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) varies seasonally in its native range |journal=Animal Biology |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=69–80 |doi=10.1163/15707563-00002516}}{{cite journal |author1=Akrim, F. |author2=Mahmood, T. |author3=Nadeem, M.S. |author4=Qasim, S. |author5=Andleeb, S. |author6=Fatima, H. |year=2019 |title=Distribution, dietary breadth and niche overlap between two sympatric mongoose species inhabiting Pir Lasura National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan |journal=Pakistan Journal of Zoology |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=1497–1507 |doi=10.17582/journal.pjz/2019.51.4.1497.1507|doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |author1=Hira, F. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Mahmood, T.J. |author3=Sakhawat, A. |author4=Faraz, A. |author5=Muhammad, F. |author6=Shaista, A. |year=2020 |title=Sympatric mongoose species may opt for spatial adjustments to avoid feeding competition at Margalla Hills National Park Islamabad, Pakistan |journal=Wildlife Biology |volume=2020 |issue=2 |page=wlb.00654 |doi=10.2981/wlb.00654 |doi-access=free}}

In India, it was observed in forested areas of Madhya Pradesh, in Panna Tiger Reserve, Guna district, and in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.{{cite journal |author=Shekar, K.S. |title=The status of mongooses in central India |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |issue=29 |year=2003 |pages=22–23}}

In 2016, the European Commission added the small Indian mongoose to the annual list of invasive and alien species.{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/invasivealien/docs/IAS_list_regulation.pdf |title=Adopting a list of invasive alien species of Union concern pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council}}

In 1872, nine small Indian mongooses were introduced to Jamaica from India to control black (Rattus rattus) and brown rats (R. norvegicus) on sugarcane plantations. They reproduced within a few months.{{cite journal |author1=Espeut, W. B. |year=1882 |title=On the acclimatization of the Indian mongoose in Jamaica |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |issue=November |pages=712–714 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen82busi/page/712/mode/2up}}

In the 1800s, sugarcane plantations were established on many Pacific islands such as Hawaii and Fiji. Sugarcane attracted rats, which caused widespread crop failure and loss. Attempts to introduce the small Indian mongoose on Trinidad in 1870 for the purpose of rat control were not successful.{{cite book |author2=Hoagland, D. B. |author1=Horst, G. R. |name-list-style=amp |author3=Kilpatrick, C. W. |year=1989 |chapter=The Mongoose in the West Indies: The biogeography and population biology of an introduced species |pages=409–424 |title=Biogeography of the West Indies |editor1=Woods, C. A. |editor2=Sergile, F. E. |publisher=Sand Hill Crane Press |location=Gainesville, Florida |isbn=9781420039481}}

From 1870 onwards, it was introduced to all of the Greater Antilles islands including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands to reduce crop damage.{{cite journal |author1=Seaman, G. A. |author2=Randall, J. E. |title=The Mongoose as a Predator in the Virgin Islands |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=43 |number=4 |pages=544–546 |year=1962 |jstor=1376922 |doi=10.2307/1376922}}{{cite web |url=https://platform.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/93810 |title=Herpestes auropunctatus (small Indian mongoose) |last=Roy |first=S. |date=2020 |website=Invasive Species Compendium |publisher=CAB International |access-date=12 February 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204220758/https://platform.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/93810 |url-status=dead}} This introduction had a negative impact on the native fauna, as populations of endemic reptiles greatly decreased in number like the green iguana (Iguana iguana); the ground lizard (Ameiva polops) had been eliminated from the island of St. Croix by 1962. Ground-nesting birds, terrestrial rock iguanas and small mammals like hutias and solenodons were likely also affected. Native snakes have been largely extirpated on many of the Caribbean islands where mongooses were introduced, and now only exist on remote offshore islands; at least one snake species in St. Croix may now be extinct.{{cite book |last1=Henderson |first1=R. W. |last2=Crother |first2=B. I. |date=1989 |chapter=Biogeographic patterns of predation in West Indian snakes |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305278871 |editor1-last=Woods |editor1-first=C. A. |title=Biogeography of the West Indies: Past, present, and future |url=https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/0169-5347%2890%2990113-R |location=Gainesville |publisher=Sandhill Crane Press |pages=479–518 |doi=10.1016/0169-5347(90)90113-R |isbn=1-877743-03-8}}

File:Herpestidae - Herpestes javanicus (Javan Mongoose).webm

Offspring from Jamaican small Indian mongooses were shipped to plantations on other islands.

Early 1900s accounts claimed that introduced mongooses were effective at reducing the number of rats, mice and insects.{{cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/ndnp-hawaii/Home/historical-feature-articles/mongooses |title=Mongooses in Hawaii Newspapers |last1=Kim|first1=A. |publisher=University of Hawai'i at Manoa Library|access-date=22 December 2015}} However, the mongooses also preyed on native birds that had evolved in the absence of any mammalian predators. The mongooses also raided the nests of green sea turtles to consume eggs and turtle hatchling.{{Cite web |url=https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/mongoose/|title=Mongoose|date=2013 |website=Hawaii Invasive Species Council |access-date=2020-04-20}}

The small Indian mongoose was introduced to Okinawa Island in 1910 and also to Amami Ōshima Island in 1979 in an attempt to control the venomous pit viper Protobothrops flavoviridis and other perceived 'pests'; the mongoose has since become a pest itself.{{cite journal |year=2021 |title=Eradication of the mongoose is crucial for the conservation of three endemic bird species in Yambaru, Okinawa Island, Japan |journal=Biological Invasions |volume=23 |pages=2249–2260 |author1=Yagihashi, T. |author2=Seki, SI. |author3=Nakaya, T. |author4=Nakata, K. |author5=Kotaka, N. |doi=10.1007/s10530-021-02503-w |doi-access=free}}

On September 3, 2024, the Ministry of the Environment announced that the small Indian mongoose had been eradicated from Amami Ōshima.{{cite web |url=https://www.env.go.jp/en/press/press_03205.html |title=Declaration of the Eradication of the Small Indian Mongoose (Designated Invasive Alien Species) in Amami Oshima Island |date=September 3, 2024 |website=Ministry of the Environment |publisher= |access-date=September 14, 2024 }}

The small Indian mongoose was introduced to the Mljet island in 1910 by order of the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture. After quarantine, seven males and four females were released near Goveđari and introduced to Korčula, Pelješac, Brač and Šolta between 1921 and 1927; the population of the horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) decreased significantly in 20 years and the mongooses started preying more on resident and migratory birds, and also on domestic poultry.{{cite journal |author1=Tvrtkovic, N. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Kryštufek, B. |year=1990 |title=Small Indian mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus on the Adriatic islands of Yugoslavia |journal=Bonner Zoologische Beiträge |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=3–8 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Bonner-Zoologische-Beitraege_41_0003-0008.pdf}} Around 1970, the mongoose inhabited Hvar and spread rapidly. It did not survive on Brač and Šolta, but it did appear on Čiovo.{{cite thesis |author=Karamarko, A. |year=2008 |title=Spolno ponašanje malog indijskog mungosa u zatočeništvu |type=Diplom |publisher=Sveučilište u Zagrebu |place=Zagreb |lang=hr |url=http://zaf.biol.pmf.unizg.hr/Tadic/PDF/Kvalifikacijski/AKaramarko_BSc.pdf}}

The mongoose is considered vermin, but neither the bounties offered nor the introduction of wild boars to the island helped to reduce the population.{{cite journal |author=Frković, A. |year=2000 |title=Mungos na otoku Mljetu (uz 90. godišnjicu introdukcije) |journal=Šumarski List |volume=11 |issue=124 |lang=hr |pages=693–698 |url=http://www.sumari.hr/sumlist/pdf/200006930.pdf}}

The small Indian mongoose uses about 12 different vocalizations.{{cite journal |author1=Mulligan, B. E. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Nellis, D. W. |year=1973 |title=Sounds of the Mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus |journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=320|doi=10.1121/1.1978275 |bibcode=1973ASAJ...54S.320M |doi-access=free }}

In Pakistan, the small Indian mongoose feeds primarily on insects including dragonflies, grasshoppers, mole crickets, ground beetles, earwigs and ants. It also preys on lesser bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis), short-tailed bandicoot rat (Nesokia indica), Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus), Indian gerbil (Tatera indica) and house mouse (Mus musculus). Scat collected in Pir Lasura National Park contained remains of black rat (Rattus rattus), small amphibians, reptiles, small birds, seeds of grasses and fruits.

Faecal pellets found near burrows in Gujarat contained fish scales, feathers and remains of insects in December and plant matter also in spring.{{cite journal |author1=Dabholkar, Y. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Devkar, R. |year=2020 |title=Diurnal activity and diet of Small Indian Mongoose Urva auropunctata on the outskirts of Vadodara, Gujarat, India |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |volume=58 |pages=e58008 |url=http://nebula.wsimg.com/bbf1df6e614549256fb75040df625a00?AccessKeyId=35E369A09ED705622D78&disposition=0&alloworigin=1}}

Small Indian mongooses in northern Okinawa Island were infected with Leptospira{{cite journal |author1=Ishibashi, O. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Ahagon, A. |author3=Nakamura, M. |author4=Morine, N. |author5=Taira, K. |author6=Ogura, G. |author7=Nakachi, M. |author8=Kawashima, Y. |author9=Nakada, T. |year=2006 |title=Distribution of Leptospira spp. on the Small Asian Mongoose and the Roof Rat inhabiting the northern part of Okinawa Island |journal=Japanese Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=35–41 |doi=10.5686/jjzwm.11.35 |lang=ja |doi-access=free}} and antibiotic-resistant strains of Escherichia coli.{{cite journal| last1=Nakamura |first1=I. |last2=O. |first2=T. |last3=Sakemi|first3=Y. |title=The Prevalence of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli in two species of invasive alien mammals in Japan|journal=Journal of Veterinary Medical Science |date=2011 |volume=73 |issue=8 |pages=1067–1070 |pmid=21467758 |doi=10.1292/jvms.10-0525 |doi-access=free}}

The small Indian mongoose is a major rabies vector in Puerto Rico, but transmission to humans is low.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/resources/publications/2015-surveillance/2015-us-map.html|title=Distribution of major rabies virus variants among mesocarnivores in the United States and Puerto Rico, 2008 to 2015 |date=2017}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Carnivora|F.}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q123900653|from2=Q30892873}}

Category:Mammals of the Caribbean

Category:Urva (genus)

Category:Fauna of Croatia

Category:Mammals described in 1836

Category:Taxa named by Brian Houghton Hodgson