Short-tailed mongoose

Short-tailed mongoose
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Herpestidae
Subfamily:	Herpestinae
Genus:	Herpestes
Species:	H. brachyurus
Binomial name
Herpestes brachyurus Gray, 1837
Short-tailed mongoose range

The short-tailed mongoose (Herpestes brachyurus) is a species of mongoose that lives in the rainforests of Southeast Asia.

The species is red-brown to black, with black limbs. The head is more grayish, with a black spot on the chin. This species has a total length of 60 to 65 cm (including tail) and a weight of about 1.4 kg. The tail is relatively short, about 25 cm.

The short-tailed mongoose is found in lowland rainforests of Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippine islands Palawan and Busuanga. It is common in the neighbourhood of rivers and other bodies of waters. One of its subspecies is often considered a separate species instead, the Hose's mongoose.

References

1. Widmann, P., Azlan J. & Hon, J. (2008). Herpestes brachyurus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 22 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern