| Stripe-necked mongoose | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult in Nagarhole National Park | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Herpestidae |
| Genus: | Urva |
| Species: | U. vitticolla |
| Binomial name | |
| Urva vitticolla (Bennett, 1835) | |
 | |
| Stripe-necked mongoose range | |
| Synonyms | |
Herpestes vitticollis | |
The stripe-necked mongoose (Urva vitticolla) is a mongoose species native to forests and shrublands from southern India to Sri Lanka. [1]
It is rusty brown to grizzled grey, has a stout body and short legs, a black stripe that runs laterally on both sides of its neck. Its short tail is mostly black, but grey at the base. Head to body length is 46-50 cm with tail length of 32 cm. Males are larger and heavier than females with the weight of 3.1 kg. Females weigh about 1.7 kg. [2]
The stripe-necked mongoose is distributed in the Western Ghats and in Sri Lanka. [1] In 1911, one individual was observed in southern Andhra Pradesh. [3]
It is diurnal and feeds on frogs, crabs, mouse deer, black naped hares, rodents, fowl, and reptiles. It generally avoids human habitation. They usually inhabit in riparian habitats or near abandoned tanks. In Sri Lanka, they are sparsely found within protected ranges such as national parks and sanctuaries. However, populations are commonly found over 2000 m altitude. Even though reproduction habits are unclear, pups have been noticed in mid-May. [2]
There are two subspecies. U. vitticolla vitticolla is from the provinces of Western Ghats, Coorg and Kerala, and has more of a reddish tint to its fur. The other, U. vitticolla inornata, is found in the Kanara province, and lacks a reddish tint to its fur. [4]
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The Haly's tree skink is a species of tree skink found in Sri Lanka. Earlier thought to be found also in the Western Ghats, taxonomic studies have shown this to be a Sri Lankan endemic, differentiated from the Indian Dasia subcaeruleum. It is the only arboreal skink in Sri Lanka.
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The small Indian civet is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agricultural and secondary landscapes of many range states.
The crab-eating mongoose is a mongoose species ranging from the northeastern Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to southern China and Taiwan. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
The Nilgiri marten is the only marten species native to southern India. It lives in the hills of the Nilgiris and parts of the Western Ghats. With only around a thousand members left it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
The golden palm civet is a palm civet endemic to Sri Lanka. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and the extent and quality of its habitat in Sri Lanka's hill regions are declining.
The Indian grey mongoose is a mongoose species native to the Indian subcontinent and West Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The grey mongoose inhabits open forests, scrublands and cultivated fields, often close to human habitation. It lives in burrows, hedgerows and thickets, among groves of trees, and takes shelter under rocks or bushes and even in drains. It is very bold and inquisitive but wary, seldom venturing far from cover. It climbs very well. It is usually found singly or in pairs. It preys on rodents, snakes, birds’ eggs and hatchlings, lizards, and a variety of invertebrates. Along the Chambal River it occasionally feeds on gharial eggs. It breeds throughout the year.
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The ruddy mongoose is a mongoose species native to hill forests in India and Sri Lanka.
The gray slender loris is a species of primate in the family Loridae. It is native to India and Sri Lanka and inhabits subtropical and tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Layard's palm squirrel or flame-striped jungle squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae endemic to Sri Lanka. The validity of the subspecies F. l. dravidianus based on a single specimen from the southern tip of India has been questioned, and is probably a juvenile F. sublineatus. Known as මූකලන් ලේනා in Sinhala.
Nacaduba sinhala, the Pale Ceylon line blue, or Ceylon six-lineblue, is a species of Lycaenidae butterfly. It is endemic to Western Ghats complex.
Urva is a genus comprising the Asian mongooses within the mongoose family Herpestidae. Species in the genus were formerly classified in the genus Herpestes, which is now thought to comprise exclusively African mongooses; phylogenetic evidence indicates that the Asian mongooses form a monophyletic group and had an Asian common ancestor. Urva forms a clade with Xenogale and Atilax, while Herpestes forms a clade with all other African mongoose species.
