Herpestes Illiger 1811

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Carnivora, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 532-628 : 566

Herpestes Illiger 1811

Herpestes Illiger 1811 , Prodr. Syst. Mamm. Avium: 135.

Type Species: Viverra ichneumon Linnaeus 1758

Synonyms: Calogale Gray 1865 ; Calictis Gray 1865 ; Herpertes Illiger 1811 ; Ichneumon Frisch 1775 ; Mangusta Horsfield 1822 ; Mesobema Hodgson 1841 ; Onychogale Gray 1865 ; Taeniogale Gray 1865 ; Urva Hodgson 1837 ; Xenogale Allen 1919 .

Species and subspecies: 10 species with 50 subspecies:

Species Herpestes brachyurus Gray 1836

Subspecies Herpestes brachyurus subsp. brachyurus Gray 1836

Subspecies Herpestes brachyurus subsp. hosei Jentink 1903

Subspecies Herpestes brachyurus subsp. javanensis Bechthold 1936

Subspecies Herpestes brachyurus subsp. palawanus Allen 1910

Subspecies Herpestes brachyurus subsp. parvus Jentink 1895

Subspecies Herpestes brachyurus subsp. sumatrius Thomas 1921

Species Herpestes edwardsi E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1818

Subspecies Herpestes edwardsi subsp. edwardsi E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1818

Subspecies Herpestes edwardsi subsp. ferrugineus Blanford 1874

Subspecies Herpestes edwardsi subsp. lanka Wroughton 1915

Subspecies Herpestes edwardsi subsp. montanus Bechthold 1936

Subspecies Herpestes edwardsi subsp. nyula Hodgson 1836

Species Herpestes fuscus Waterhouse 1838

Subspecies Herpestes fuscus subsp. fuscus Waterhouse 1838

Subspecies Herpestes fuscus subsp. flavidens Kelaart 1850

Subspecies Herpestes fuscus subsp. maccarthiae Gray 1851

Subspecies Herpestes fuscus subsp. rubidior Pocock 1937

Subspecies Herpestes fuscus subsp. siccatus Thomas 1924

Species Herpestes ichneumon ( Linnaeus 1758)

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. ichneumon Linnaeus 1758

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. angolensis Bocage 1890

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. cafra Gmelin 1788

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. centralis Lönnberg 1917

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. funestus Osgood 1910

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. mababiensis Roberts 1932

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. numidicus F. G. Cuvier 1834

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. parvidens Lönnberg 1908

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. sabiensis Roberts 1926

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. sangronizi Cabrera 1924

Subspecies Herpestes ichneumon subsp. widdringtonii Gray 1842

Species Herpestes javanicus E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1818

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. javanicus E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1818

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. auropunctatus Hodgson 1836

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. exilis Gervais 1841

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. orientalis Sody 1936

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. pallipes Blyth 1845

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. palustris Ghose 1965

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. peninsulae Schwarz 1910

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. perakensis Kloss 1917

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. rafflesii Anderson 1875

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. rubrifrons J. A. Allen 1909

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. siamensis Kloss 1917

Subspecies Herpestes javanicus subsp. tjerapai Sody 1949

Species Herpestes naso de Winton 1901

Species Herpestes semitorquatus Gray 1846

Subspecies Herpestes semitorquatus subsp. semitorquatus Gray 1846

Subspecies Herpestes semitorquatus subsp. uniformis Robinson and Kloss 1919

Species Herpestes smithii Gray 1837

Subspecies Herpestes smithii subsp. smithii Gray 1837

Subspecies Herpestes smithii subsp. thysanurus Wagner 1839

Subspecies Herpestes smithii subsp. zeylanius Thomas 1921

Species Herpestes urva Hodgson 1836

Subspecies Herpestes urva subsp. urva Hodgson 1836

Subspecies Herpestes urva subsp. annamensis Bechthold 1936

Subspecies Herpestes urva subsp. formosanus Bechthold 1936

Subspecies Herpestes urva subsp. sinensis Bechthold 1936

Species Herpestes vitticollis Bennett 1835

Subspecies Herpestes vitticollis subsp. vitticollis Bennett 1835

Subspecies Herpestes vitticollis subsp. inornatus Pocock 1941

Discussion: Revised by Pocock (1919, 1937, 1941 a), Bechthold (1939), and Taylor and Matheson (1999). Coetzee (1977 b) and Hayman (in Sanderson, 1940) included Xenogale (see discussion under naso ). Allen (1924) included only ichneumon in this genus and separated sanguinea and pulverulenta into Galerella ; for support, he contrasted the large ichneumon with the smaller sanguine-pulverulenta complex and reported proportion differences in measurements of skeleton and skull. His rationale has been repeated, in some cases verbatum, by Rosevear (1974), Ansell (1978), Smithers (1983), Meester et al. (1986), and Watson and Dippenaar (1987). Taylor et al. (1991) presented an allozyme analysis and argued for generic recognition, however, they did not include Asiatic Herpestes , and their consensus tree made the placement of the sanguinea / pulverulenta clade equivocal. Fredga's (1972) comparative chromosome analysis looked at variation including Asiatic and African Herpestes , and based on this, recognition of Galerella would make Herpestes paraphyletic. Comparison of measurements from Allen (1924), Rosevear (1974), and Smithers (1983) for African forms, and Bechthold (1939) and Pocock (1941 a) for Asiatic forms reveals that the large morphological gaps originally identified by Allen (1924) dissolve when Asiatic species are included. Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1953) and Wozencraft (1989 b) suggested that differences between these taxa and other Herpestes are less than those found within Herpestes . Morphological criteria similar to that used by Allen (1924) have been used mostly at the specific level in other carnivores. Although the case is not strong, many recent authors have separated Galerella and this is provisionally followed here (see comments under Galerella ) as nearly all agree that this is a monophyletic group. McKenna and Bell (1997) included Galerella . Taylor and Matheson’s (1999) phenetic analysis illustrated interesting parallel developments between Asiatic and African mongooses. Veron et al. (2004) suggested that placement of H. auropunctata and H. ichneumon in the same genus group to the exclusion of Ichneumia would make Herpestes paraphyletic.