Long-nosed mongoose
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Herpestidae
Genus:	Xenogale Allen, 1919
Species:	X. naso[2][3]
Binomial name
Xenogale naso[4][3] (de Winton, 1901)
Long-nosed mongoose range

The long-nosed mongoose (Xenogale naso) is a mongoose native to Central African wetlands and rainforests. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 1996.^[1] Although formerly classified in Herpestes, more recent studies indicate that it belongs in the monotypic taxon Xenogale.^[5][6]

Distribution and habitat

The long-nosed mongoose is native to wetlands and rainforests from the Niger Delta in Nigeria, Cameroon to the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has been recorded from sea level up to an elevation of 640 m (2,100 ft).^[1]

It is one of the most water dependent species.^[7]

Behaviour and ecology

The long-nose mongoose is usually solitary and lives in a home range of 41–46 ha (100–110 acres). It moves up to 4,600 m (15,100 ft) daily in this area foraging for food. It chooses different locations as night-time resting places.^[8]

Threats

The long-nosed mongoose's habitat is fragmented because of logging, mining, and slash-and-burn agricultural practices.^[1]

In Gabon, it is hunted for sale in bushmeat markets.^[9]

References