Taxon name
Herpestes auropunctatus
Hodgson, 1836
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Herpestes auropunctatus
Hodgson, 1836
Common name(s)
Small Indian Mongoose, Chhoto Beji, Nakul
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
Hodgson, 1836
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Wozencraft (2005) considered Herpestes auropunctatus to be conspecific with Herpestes javanicus. But Taylor and Matheson (1999) and Veron et al. (2006) suggest a specific status. Using analyses of mitochondrial DNA from a small subset of mongooses, Veron
Mangusta auropuntata Hodgson, 1836; Herpestes pallipes Blyth, 1845
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
Bangladesh
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This is a very common and widely distributed mongoose in Bangladesh. It is found in a variety of habitats and habitat modification does not significantly affect its presumed large population.This species has a wide distribution throughout the country. Moreover, there is no direct threat found which can lead it to a significant decline. So, this species has been categorized as Least Concern.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
Khadija Rawshan
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iv + 32pp; IUCN (2012) Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
http://iucnredlistbd.org/
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
It occurs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, India (south to Sind on the west and Orissa on the east), Nepal, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, China (southern China including Hainan Island), Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Lao PDR and Viet Nam (Wozencraft et al. 2015). Small Indian Mongoose is the most widely distributed carnivore in Bangladesh that thrives well in both natural and man-made habitats barring the interior of the Sundarbans (Khan 1982, 2008, 2015).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes, in the publication/on website
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
It is diurnal and likes shady places. It occurs as solitary animal or in pairs. It lives in holes burrowed by itself, in grain and firewood store houses that are sparingly used in the villages, graveyards, ruins, piles of bricks and stacks of logs as well as dry sewage drains and pipes in the cities (Khan 1985, 1987). It forages in and around countryside houses, bushes, hedges and crop fields. Feeds on rats, mice, snakes, scorpions, centipeds, wasps and all types of insects, eggs of birds and reptiles, fruits and datepalm juice. It breeds mainly from April to July.
History
Data Deficient in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh 2000).
Publication
IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. xvi+232
