Herpestidae Bonaparte 1845

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Carnivora, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 532-628 : 562

Herpestidae Bonaparte 1845

Herpestidae Bonaparte 1845 , Cat. Meth. Mamm. Europe: 3.

Synonyms: Cynictidae Cope 1882 ; Herpestoidei Winge 1895 ; Mongotidae Pocock 1919 ; Rhinogalidae Gray 1869 ; Suricatidae Cope 1882 ; Suricatinae Thomas 1882 .

Genera: 14 genera with 33 species:

Genus Atilax F. G. Cuvier 1826 (1 species with 11 subspecies)

Genus Bdeogale Peters 1850 (3 species with 5 subspecies)

Genus Crossarchus F. G. Cuvier 1825 (4 species with 2 subspecies)

Genus Cynictis Ogilby 1833 (1 species with 12 subspecies)

Genus Dologale Thomas 1926 (1 species)

Genus Galerella Gray 1864 (4 species with 33 subspecies)

Genus Helogale Gray 1861 (2 species with 12 subspecies)

Genus Herpestes Illiger 1811 (10 species with 50 subspecies)

Genus Ichneumia I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1837 (1 species with 7 subspecies)

Genus Liberiictis Hayman 1958 (1 species)

Genus Mungos E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and F. G. Cuvier 1795 (2 species with 16 subspecies)

Genus Paracynictis Pocock 1916 (1 species with 4 subspecies)

Genus Rhynchogale Thomas 1894 (1 species with 2 subspecies)

Genus Suricata Desmarest 1804 (1 species with 3 subspecies)

Discussion: Wozencraft (1989 b) placed Crossarchus , Cynictis , Dologale , Helogale , Liberiictis , Mungos , Paracynictis , and Suricata in the Mungotinae but gave no supporting rationale. Fredga's (1972) analysis of chromosomes and the recent molecular work by Veron et al. (2004) would support Wozencraft's Mungotinae (with the inclusion of Bdeogale and Ichneumia ). The phylogenetic analysis of allozyme data by Taylor et al. (1991) also supported Cynictis , Suricata , and Helogale as a monophyletic group.