Rhynchogale melleri, Thomas, 1894

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Herpestidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 262-328 : 320

23.

Meller’s Mongoose

Rhynchogale melleri

French: Mangouste de Meller / German: Meller-Manguste / Spanish: Mangosta crestada

Taxonomy. Rhynogale melleri Gray, 1865 ,

Kilosa, Tanganyika Territory, Tanzania.

Two subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

R. m. melleri Gray, 1865 — DR Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, N & C Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe,and possibly NE Botswana.

R. m. langi Roberts, 1938 — S Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa (Limpopo & Mpumalanga Provinces).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 44-50 cm, tail 28—=41-2 cm, hindfoot 9.5-10. 6 cm, ear 3.1-4. 3 cm; weight 1.8-2. 8 kg. A medium to large brown mongoose with a bushy tail. The general coloration is grayish to pale brown, the head is paler, and the feet are darker. The pelage is coarsely grizzled; the hard, wiry, guard hairs have white, buffy, brown, or dark brown rings. The underparts are generally lighter in color than the dorsal pelage. The underfur is dense and fine; the hairs are gray, gray-brown, or ashy-gray at the base, tinged with brown at the tip. The hairs are 8-10 mm long on the head, increasing in length toward the rump, where they reach 40-45 mm long. The muzzle is blunt and swollen, the rhinarium has no central groove and the upper lip is not divided. The color of the tail is variable: in black-tailed individuals the tail is white or brownish-white at the base and the remainder is black, and in white-tailed individuals the tail hairs have black and white rings, with white tips. At the tip of the tail the hairs are up to 12-5 cm long in black-tailed forms, but in white-tailed forms the hairs barely reach 9 cm. The tail length is slightly less than 50% of the total body length. The lower parts of the limbs are darker than the dorsal coat and are not grizzled. There are five digits on each foot, but the hallux is much reduced. The claws on the forefeet are short, curved, sharp, and about 8 mm long; the claws of the hindfeet are heavier and less curved. The sole of the hindfoot 1s hairy. The anus and anal glands open into a circular pouch that closes with a transverse slit. There are two pairs of teats. The skull is lightly built and elongated; the width is half of the total length and is highest at the midpoint of the zygomatic arches. The ovoid braincase is widest just behind the glenoid articulations and narrows forward to the post-orbital constriction. The post-orbital constriction is broad (70% of the braincase width). The skull is enlarged at the point where the sagittal crest divides, and the eye sockets are set in a forward position. The post-orbital bar is not closed; the post-orbital processes are long, but do not reach each other. The zygomatic arches are thin and weak, and the coronoid process is of medium height, suggesting that the jaw muscles are not very large. The supra-occipital crest slopes backwards,rising to about 5 mm in height; the sagittal crest is low. The rostrum is short and broad. The anterior chamber of the auditory bulla is much smaller than the posterior chamber, which is round and rises to a high apex. The palate is broad and the cheeck teeth are set in a curved row. Dental formula: 1 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4, M 2/2 = 40. The upper canines are thin, sharp, and curved; the lower canines are more curved and heavier. The first premolars are very small. The upper carnassials are broad and molariform and the fourth lower premolars are broad, with high cusps. The trigonid of the lower carnassial has three high cusps; the second lower molaris similar, but with lower cusps. The teeth appearto be adapted to grinding more than slicing.

Habitat. Savannah, open woodland, and grassland (with termitaries). Recorded in Mwanihana bamboo forest at 1850 m in Tanzania. In Zimbabwe and Malawi,it is found in open Brachystegia woodland and is associated with open grassland and vlei areas where particular species of termites are found. Recorded from mountainous areas and on low-lying granite soils in the Kruger National Park ( South Africa).

Food and Feeding. Mainly insectivorous, particularly termites. In Zimbabwe, 23 stomachs all contained termites (Macrotermes falciger, M. natalensis, and Hodotermes mossambicus). The frequency of occurrence of other food items was: 13% Orthoptera (grasshoppers), 4% Myriapoda (a centipede Scolopendra morsitans), 4% Coleoptera (black beetles), 4% reptiles (Peters’s thread snake Leptotyphlops scutifrons), and 4% amphibians (a frog). Most of the stomachs contained small pieces of grass. In eastern Zambia, a specimen stomach contained termites and two centipedes. Fruits were reported in stomachs collected in Malawi.

Activity patterns. Nocturnal activity has been recorded by camera-traps in Tanzania.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Believed to be solitary.

Breeding. Births may take place in November and December. Litter size appears to be to up to three: a female with three fetuses was found in November. In Zimbabwe, a female and two young were taken from an Aardvark (Orycteropus afer)burrow in January. In Zambia, in December, a litter of two newborn young was found in a cave and a pregnant female had two fetuses.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. Considered uncommon, but is present in several protected areas and its preferred habitat is extensive. There are no obvious major threats. However, in Tanzania and Zambia, there has been considerable expansion of the human population and domestic dogs, which could represent a significant local threat. Field surveys and ecological studies are needed.

Bibliography. Ansell (1960b, 1969, 1974), De Luca & Mpunga (2005), Kingdon (1971-1982, 1997), Perez et al. (2006), Skinner & Chimimba (2005), Stuart & Stuart (In press c), Thevenin (1943), Wozencraft (2005).

Figures

On following pages: 15. Somalian Slender Mongoose (Galerella ochracea); 16. Cape Gray Mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta); 17. Common Slender Mongoose (Galerella sanguinea); 18. White-tailed Mongoose (/chneumia albicauda); 19. Selous's Mongoose (Paracynictis selous)); 20. Bushy-tailed Mongoose (Bdeogale crassicauda); 21. Jackson's Mongoose (Bdeogale jackson); 22. Black-footed Mongoose (Bdeogale nigripes); 23. Meller’s Mongoose (Rhynchogale melleri).

Subspecies and Distribution. R. m. melleri Gray, 1865 — DR Congo , Tanzania , Malawi , N & C Mozambique , Zambia , Zimbabwe ,and possibly NE Botswana . R. m. langi Roberts, 1938 — S Mozambique , Swaziland , and South Africa (Limpopo & Mpumalanga Provinces).