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Crossarchus

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Ordo: Carnivora
Subordo: Feliformia
Familia: Herpestidae
Subfamilia: Herpestinae
Genus: Crossarchus
Species: C. alexandri - C. ansorgei - C. obscurus - C. platycephalus

Name

Crossarchus (Cuvier, 1825)

References

* Crossarchus on Mammal Species of the World.
* Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2 Volume Set edited by Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder

Crossarchus is a genus of mongoose, commonly referred to as the kusimanse, mangue, or dwarf mongoose.


Range and habitat

Members of this genus are found in the swamplands and forests of central and western Africa, in the countries of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Diet

They feed on insects, larvae, small reptiles, crabs and berries. They use their claws and snouts for digging in leaf litter, under rotted trees and stones for the insects and larvae. They will also wade in to shallow streams looking for freshwater crabs.

Reproduction

Females are polyestrus and if not mated will come into heat nine times in a year. Litters range from 2-3 per year. The young can open their eyes in about twelve days, eating solid food in three weeks and have adult hair in five weeks.

Behavior

Crossarchus live in groups of 10 to 24. One to three families live in a group. The families are made up of the mating pair and the young. They are diurnal, and will wander throughout their territories constantly, never staying in one place too long. In their wanderings they will create temporary shelters for themselves.

Species

* Alexander's Kusimanse, Crossarchus alexandri
* Angolan Kusimanse, Crossarchus ansorgei
* Common Kusimanse, Crossarchus obscurus
* Flat-headed Kusimanse, Crossarchus platycephalus


References

1. ^ Caso, A., Lopez-Gonzalez, C., Payan, E., Eizirik, E., de Oliveira, T., Leite-Pitman, R., Kelly, M., Valderrama, C. & Lucherini, M. (2009). Crossarchus. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 23 September 2009. Database entry includes justification for why this species is least concern

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Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License