Pousargues's mongoose explained

Pousargues's mongoose (Dologale dybowskii), also known as the African tropical savannah mongoose, is a mongoose native to Central Africa. It is listed as data deficient on the IUCN Red List as little is known about its distribution and ecology. It is the only species in the genus Dologale.

Up to the late 20th century, it was known from only around 30 zoological specimens in natural history museum collections.^[1]

Characteristics

The Pousargues's mongoose is brown with a grey belly and face. Its tail is bushy, and its front feet have strong claws. Its body length is between 25and with a NaNround=0.5NaNround=0.5 long tail.^[1]

Taxonomy

In 1893, Eugène de Pousargues first described the Pousargues's mongoose on the basis of zoological specimens collected in 1892 near the Kémo River. The type locality corresponds to the former French garrison founded by the Dybowski Mission close to the settlement of Fort de Possel. It is named in honor of Jean Dybowski who collected the specimens. It was initially subordinated to the genus Crossarchus,^{[2] [3]} but was later moved to its own genus, Dologale.^[1]

A genetic study focused on Carnivora highlighted the Pousargues's mongoose to be the sister-species of the genus Helogale.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

The Pousargues's mongoose ranges from northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic to western Uganda.^[1]

Mongooses sighted and recorded by a camera-trap in 2011 and 2012 in the Central African Republic were preliminarily identified as Pousargues's mongoose.^[5]

In 2013, a group of Pousargues's mongooses was observed near Lake Albert in Uganda's Semliki Wildlife Reserve.^[6] In 2016, an individual was observed and photographed in Garamba National Park.^[7]

Conservation

Field research for the collection of basic data on its ecology is indispensable for designing adequate conservation measures.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Book: Schreiber, A. . Wirth, R. . Riffel, M. . Van Rompaey, H. . amp . 1989 . Weasels, civets, mongooses, and their relatives. An Action Plan for the conservation of mustelids and viverrids . Pousargues' mongoose (Dologale dybowskii) . 59 . IUCN / SSC Mustelid and Viverrid Specialist Group . Gland, Switzerland . http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/actionplans/weasels_civets_mongooses.pdf.
2. de Pousargues . E. . 1894 . Description d'une nouvelle espèce de mammifère du genre Crossarchus et considérations sur la répartition géographique des crossarques rayés . Nouvelles Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle . 3 . 6 . 121–134 .
3. Book: de Pousargues, E. . 1896 . Crossarchus dybowskii . Etude sur les mammifères du Congo français . https://archive.org/details/udesurlesmammifs00pous/page/318 . Annales des sciences naturelles. Zoologie et paléontologie . 3 . 8 . Paris . 318 . fr.
4. Nyakatura. K. . Bininda-Emonds . O. R. P. . amp . 2012 . Updating the evolutionary history of Carnivora (Mammalia): a new species-level supertree complete with divergence time estimates . BMC Biology . 10 . 12 . 10.1186/1741-7007-10-12 . 22369503 . 3307490 . free .
5. Aebischer, T. . Hickisch, R. . Klimek, M. . Parkison, A. . amp . 2013 . Probable records of Pousargues's Mongoose Dologale dybowskii in the Chinko/Mbari drainage basin, Central African Republic . Small Carnivore Conservation . 48 . 101–103 .
6. Woolgar, J. . 2014 . A confirmed sighting of Pousargues's Mongoose Dologale dybowskii . Small Carnivore Conservation . 51 . 1–3 .
7. D'haen, M. . 2017 . A confirmed sighting of Pousargues's Mongoose Dologale dybowskii in Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo . Small Carnivore Conservation . 55 . 69–72 .