The crab-eating mongoose is grey on the sides and dusky brown on neck, chest, belly and limbs. It has a broad white stripe on the sides of the neck extending from the cheeks to the shoulder.[4]It has white specks on the top of the head, its chin is white and its throat gray. Its iris is yellow. Its ears are short and rounded. It has webs between the digits. In head-to-body length it ranges from 47.7 to 55.8 cm (18.8 to 22.0 in) with a 28 to 34 cm (11 to 13 in) long bushy tail. Its weight ranges from 1.1 to 2.5 kg (2.4 to 5.5 lb).[7]
Crab-eating mongooses are usually active in the mornings and evenings, and were observed in groups of up to four individuals. They are supposed to be good swimmers, and hunt along the banks of streams and close to water.[7]
Despite their common name, their diet consists not only of crabs, but also just about anything else they can catch, including fish, snails, frogs, rodents, birds, reptiles, and insects.[8]
^Choudhury, A. (1997). "The distribution and status of small carnivores (mustelids, viverrids, and herpestids) in Assam, India".Small Carnivore Conservation (16):25–26.
^Choudhury, A. (1997). "Small carnivores (mustelids, viverrids, herpestids, and one ailurid) in Arunachal Pradesh, India".Small Carnivore Conservation (17):7–9.
^Than Zaw; Saw Htun; Saw Htoo Tha Po; Myint Maung; Lynam, A. J.; Kyaw Thinn Latt; Duckworth, J. W. (2008). "Status and distribution of small carnivores in Myanmar".Small Carnivore Conservation (38):2–28.
^Lau, M. W. N.; Fellowes, J. R.; Chan, B. P. L. (2010). "Carnivores (Mammalia: Carnivora) in South China: a status review with notes on the commercial trade".Mammal Review.40 (42):247–292.Bibcode:2010MamRv..40..247L.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2010.00163.x.
