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Helogale (dwarf mongoose)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Herpestidae

Taxonomy
Helogale was named by Gray (1861). It is extant.

It was assigned to Herpestinae by Mivart (1882); to Viverridae by Carroll (1988); and to Herpestidae by Werdelin and Peigne (2010).

Species
H. hirtula, H. parvula (syn. Herpestes undulatus)
Species lacking formal opinion data
H. kitafe

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1861Helogale Gray p. 308
1882Helogale Mivart p. 142
1988Helogale Carroll
2010Helogale Werdelin and Peigne p. 631

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
RankNameAuthor
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Ferae()
—CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
—CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderFeliformiaKretzoi 1945
—AeluroideaFlower 1869
infraorderViverroideaGray 1821
familyHerpestidae(Bonaparte 1845)
genusHelogaleGray 1861

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Helogale Gray 1861 [dwarf mongoose]
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Helogale hirtula Thomas 1904 [Ethiopian dwarf mongoose]
Helogale parvula Sundevall 1847 [common dwarf mongoose]
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Invalid names: Herpestes undulatus Peters 1852 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingf
Diet: insectivoref
Diet 2: carnivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:09
Modified: 2005-08-22 19:45:22
Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Ji et al. 2002, Hendy et al. 2009, Lillegraven 1979, Carroll 1988, Nowak 1991

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Zanclean to the top of the Gelasian or 5.33300 to 1.80600 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 3.6 Ma

Collections (10 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Tortonian - Zanclean11.62 - 3.6Ethiopia Helogale kitafe (22139)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Ethiopia Helogale kitafe (22160)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588South Africa Helogale sp. (22339)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Tanzania (Eastern Drift Valley) Helogale palaeogracilis (32050)
Late/Upper Pliocene - Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588Ethiopia Helogale kitafe (21546)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806Tanzania Helogale palaeogracilis (21816)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806Ethiopia Helogale hirtula (21545 21625 21681) Helogale kitafe (21632)