Herpestidae Author Don E. Wilson Author Russell A. Mittermeier text 2009 2009-01-31 Lynx Edicions Barcelona Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores 262 328 book chapter 3637 10.5281/zenodo.5676639 23dac009-8dc4-4021-a812-5f9db538c89c 978-84-96553-49-1 5676639 20. Bushy-tailed Mongoose Bdeogale crassicauda French: Mangouste a queue touffue / German: Buschschwanzmanguste / Spanish: Mangosta coligruesa Taxonomy. Bdeogale crassicauda Peters, 1852 , “Tette”, Mozambique . Some authors consider the Sokoke Bushytailed Mongoose race omnivora as a distinct species. Five subspecies are recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. B. c. crassicauda Peters, 1852 — DR Congo , Malawi , Mozambique , Zambia , and Zimbabwe . B. c. nigrescens Sale & Taylor, 1970 — Kenya (Lukenya Hill). B. c. omnivora Heller, 1913 — coastal forests of Kenya and extreme NE Tanzania . B. c. puisa Peters, 1852 — NE Mozambique and E Tanzania . B. c. tenuis Thomas & Wroughton, 1908 — Tanzania ( Zanzibar I). A few recent records from Yemen , but these need confirmation. Descriptive notes. Head-body 40-50 cm,tail 18-30 cm, hindfoot 7.9-4 cm, ear 2.3-9 cm; weight 1-:3.2-1 kg. A medium-sized dark mongoose, with a bushy tail (about 60% of the head and body length). The head and body are yellowish-brown or dark brown, with a grizzled appearance due to the white rings on the guard hairs; in some parts of its range this speckled appearance is not present. The guard hairs are 5 mm on the forehead; they increase in length towards the rump, where they reach about 45 mm . The underparts are sparsely haired, and the hairs are not annulated, except under the throat, and to a lesser extent, on the belly. The underfur is dense and grayish-buff; in some specimens,it tends to show through the guard hairs, particularly on the flanks, which gives a paler gray appearance to these parts. The muzzle is blunt, with a large rhinarium divided by a naked median groove that continues downward and divides the upperlip. The ears are short and wide and the eyes have a horizontal pupil with a grayish-brown iris. The tail is covered with long dark hairs (up to 60 mm ). The limbs are black or dark brown. The foreand hindfeet have four digits; the hallux and pollex are missing. The digits have stout, curved claws, which on the forefoot are 8-9 mm long and usually show considerable wear; on the hindfoot they measure up to 10-11 mm. The hindfeet have hairs up to the back of the plantar pads; the forefeet have a short naked section behind the pads. There are two pairs of teats and the baculum in the male is 15 mm long. The skull is elongated, with the zygomatic width 50% of the total length. The braincase is ovoid and broadest at the level of the jaw articulation;it narrows to the postorbital constriction, which averages 85% of the inter-orbital width. The post-orbital bar is never complete. The rostrum is long (31% of the length of the skull), but the nasal bones are well behind the incisors. The supra-occipital crest is welldeveloped, reaching 4 mm in adults. The sagittal crest is high at the back of the braincase and the zygomatic arches are heavily built. The anterior chambers of the auditory bullae are not inflated. Dental formula: 1 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4, M 2/2 = 40. The upper canines are nearly straight, with sharp cutting edges; the lower canines are recurved. The first premolars are small and peg-like, the second premolars have a normal shape, and the third and fourth premolars are broader than in other herpestid species. The two molars are broad and rectangular. The dentition clearly indicates an adaptation to crushing rather than to slicing. Habitat. Wooded grasslands, Acacia and Brachystegia woodlands, montane and bamboo forests, coral-rag thicket, and groundwater forests. In Kenya , it is recorded at the base of hills with rocky outcrops and boulders, where the vegetation is grassland with scattered shrubs and trees (especially Acacia sp. and Commiphora africana ), and also rambling herbs on the hillsides ( Cissus quadrangularis , Sarcostemma spp., and Ficus spp.). Along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coasts, the Bushy-tailed Mongoose is found in thick rainforest; in Kenya , one individual was observed approximately 300 m from the forest edge, along a dirt road, between a large open grassland area (with bush and small patches of forest) and a plantation of pine ( Pinus caribaea ). Also found in lowland forest (between 300 and 750 m ) and montane forest (up to 1850 m ) in the Udzungwa Mountains ( Tanzania ). In Mozambique , it occurs on the floodplains of the lower Shire and Pungwe Rivers, where on the drier, raised areas, there is an association of Acacia woodland. In NE Zimbabwe , it is found on granite koppies up to 1500 m , and in the eastern regions, on the fringes of lowland forest at 230 m . In Zimbabwe , it occurs in Brachystegia woodland, low-elevation riverine associations, and mopane woodland. Food and Feeding. Appears to be predominately insectivorous, but also eats other invertebrates, small mammals, and reptiles. In seven stomach contents from Zimbabwe , the frequency of occurrence of food items was: 86% insects (termites, Macrotermes falciger , Odontotermes badius , Trinervitermes rhodesiensis , Orthoptera, and Coleoptera ), 57% reptiles (variable skink Mabuya varia , Kirk's rock agama Agama kirkii , and the brown house snake Lamprophisfuliginosus ), 29% amphibians (red toad Bufo careens , the striped toad B . pusillus , Bocage’s burrowing frog Leptopelis bocagui , the savanna ridged frog Ptychadenda superciliaris , and the Mozambique ridged frog P . mossanbica ), 29% murids ( Mastomys sp. ), 29% millipedes, 14% spiders (baboon spider Harpactira sp.), 14% scorpions, 14% gastropods ( Laevicaulis natalensis ), and 14% grass. Other reports have stated that this species feeds on insects, particularly ants and termites, and that the diet includes caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, dragonflies, and spiders. In Kenya , an individual was observed foraging on either queen termites or male driver ants ( Dorylus sp. ). On Zanzibar Island , it is said to prey on large land snails, which it smashes against coral outcroppings, stones or tree trunks. Beetle and crab remains have been found in a specimen stomach and scats in East Africa. Activity patterns. Camera-trapping data indicates nocturnal activity. An individual was spotted in Kenya walking along a road at 18:50 h. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Solitary, although pairs have been photographed by camera-traps. Breeding. In Kenya , newborns and a female with a fetus were recorded in November and December. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List , Sokoke Bushy-tailed Mongoose B . ¢ . omnivora is classified as Vulnerable and is considered Threatened in the 1989 IUCN Action Plan for the Conservation of Mustelids and Viverrids. B . c . tenuis has been placed on the list of species that are illegal to hunt on Zanzibar Island . The Bushy-tailed Mongoose is said to be rare with a patchy distribution; the causes of its rarity are unknown. However, it was the most photographed carnivore species in a camera-trapping survey in the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania . In Kenya , the population in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is under threat from habitat loss due to illegal logging, and the Shimba Hills population is potentially under threat from afforestation with non-native pine species. Field surveys, ecological studies, and assessments of threats are needed. Bibliography. Allen & Loveridge (1927), Al-Safadi (1995), De Luca & Mpunga (2005), Engel & Van Rompaey (1995), Goldman & Winther-Hansen (2003), Kingdon (1971-1982), Nader & Al-Safadi (1991), Perez et al. (2006), Pocock (1916b), Sale & Taylor (1970), Schreiber et al . (1989), Simmons (1995), Skinner & Chimimba (2005), Stuart & Stuart (1998), Taylor (1986, 1987, In press a), Williams (1951), Wozencraft (2005).