Herpestes, Suricata and Mungos

Vertebrata

Fish

Tetrapoda

Basal Tetrapoda

Reptilia/Amniota

Archosauromorpha

Basal Archosauromorpha

Mammalia

Terrestrial Younginiformes

Marine Younginiformes

Lepidosauromorpha

Cephalerpeton clade

Captorhinidae

Milleretta Limnoscelis clade

Bolosaurus Diadectes clade

Turtle Pareiasaur clade

Fenestrasauria • Pterosauria

Protosquamata

Squamata

Herpestes ichneumon (Linneaus 1758; extant; 48-60cm in length) is the Egyptian mongoose. 9-10 teeth (x4) line the jaws with large carnassials. Herpestes is a lower, shorter-legged ancestor to Procyon with a relatively shorter rostrum. The postfrontal and postorbital are elongated here.

Suricata suricatta (Desmarest 1804, 24-29cm snout-vent length) is the extant meerkat from South Africa and a sister to the mongoose, Mungos and Herpestes. The postorbital bar is complete, as in primates anmd Herpestes. The medial fingers and toes are absent, leaving only four long-clawed digits per extremity. Suricata creates burrows, lacking thumbs and medial 'big' toes. The claws are long for digging. The ears are small and located on the sides of the cranium.

Mungos mungo (Gmelin 1788, 30–45cm length) is the extant banded mongoose with long strong claws used for digging in soil.

Gmelin JF 1788. Caroli a Linné systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata. - pp. [1-12], 1-500. Lipsiae. (Beer).

Linnaeus C von 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.

von Schreber JCD 1776. Die Saugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur, mit Beschreibungen. Wolfgang Walther, Erlangen, 3(Heft 17):290-312.

wiki/Herpestes
wiki/Banded_mongoose - Mungos
wiki/Meerkat - Suricata