Herpestes Illiger 1811
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Reeder, DeeAnn
Publisher: name: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Year: 2005
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Herpestidae
Herpestes

description: 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.
description: Published as part of Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Carnivora, pp. 532-628 in Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore :The Johns Hopkins University Press on page 566, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7316519