White-tailed Mongoose

The white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda) is a species in the mongoose family Herpestidae. It is the only member of the genus Ichneumia. == Taxonomy == Herpestes albicaudus was the scientific name proposed by Georges Cuvier in 1829 for a mongoose specimen with a white tail from Senegal. The genus name Ichneumia was coined by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1837. == Characteristics == The white-tailed mongoose attains a weight range of 1.8 to 5.2 kg (4.0 to 11.5 lb), with an average of approximately 3.38 kg (7.5 lb), has a head-and-body length of 53 to 71 cm (21 to 28 in) and a tail length of 40 to 47 cm (16 to 19 in). On average it appears to be the longest and heaviest extant species of mongoose, although its linear and body mass parameters broadly overlap with other larger mongoose species, in particular, the marsh mongoose seems to most closely rival (and possibly match) in range of body masses reported if not average weight. Its legs are relatively long for a mongoose. The head is long and narrow. Its large, rounded ears are set low on the sides of the head. It has a yellow to tan coloration on its…