| Crab-eating Mongoose | ||||||||||||||||
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| Herpestes urva Hodgson, 1836 |
The Crab-eating Mongoose (Herpestes urva) is a species of mongoose found in northwestern India, Nepal, Myanmar, southern China, and through southeast Asia, including the countries of Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Laos and Thailand.
It is generally grey in color, with a broad white stripe on its neck extending from its cheeks to its chest. Its throat is steel-gray with white ends of its hair, rendering a salt and pepper appearance. Its hind feet possess hairy soles. Its tail is short and homogeneously colored with a fairer tip.
Despite their common name, their diet consists not only of crabs, but also just about anything else they can catch, including fish, snails, frogs, rodents, birds, reptiles, and insects.
They are nocturnal, are excellent swimmers, and spend a fair amount of time in or near water or other moist plots of land.
References
- ^ Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.J. (2008). Herpestes urva. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 22 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- Lioncrusher's Domain: Crab Eating Mongoose
- A field guide to Indian mammals by Vivek Menon
- Life and times of the Mongoose by Nandita Boogagee
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