| Urva | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Indian grey mongoose | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Herpestidae |
| Subfamily: | Herpestinae |
| Genus: | Urva Hodgson, 1837 |
| Type species | |
| Gulo urva Hodgson, 1836 | |
| Species | |
See table and range map | |
 | |
Native distribution ofUrva species
| |
Urva is agenus comprising theAsian mongooses within themongoosefamily Herpestidae. Species in the genus were formerly classified in the genusHerpestes, which is now thought to comprise exclusively African mongooses;phylogenetic evidence indicates that the Asian mongooses form amonophyletic group and had an Asiancommon ancestor.Urva forms a clade withXenogale andAtilax, whileHerpestes forms a clade with all other African mongoose species.[1][2]
AnUrvafossil specimen, an uppermolar tooth, wasexcavated in theAyeyarwady River valley in centralMyanmar and is estimated to date to thelate Pliocene.[3]
Thescientific nameUrva was coined byBrian Houghton Hodgson as the specific name of crab-eating mongoose in 1836,[4] and as the generic name in the following year.[5]Urva species have a wide distribution spanning from theArabian Peninsula to theIndonesian island ofJava.[6]Thesmall Indian mongoose (U. auropunctata) has been introduced to several islands in the late 19th century, where it has become aninvasive species.[7][8]
Urva comprises the following species:[1]
| Image | Name | Distribution andIUCN Red List status |
|---|---|---|
-_is_it-_at_Hyderabad%2c_AP_W_106.jpg) | Indian grey mongoose (U. edwardsii)(Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818)[9] | LC[10] |
 | Javan mongoose (U. javanica)(Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818)[9] | LC[11] |
 | Stripe-necked mongoose (U. vitticolla) (Bennett, 1835)[12] | LC[13]
|
 | Small Indian mongoose (U. auropunctata)Hodgson, 1836[4] | LC[14].png) |
 | Crab-eating mongoose (U. urva)Hodgson, 1836[4] | LC[15] |
 | Ruddy mongoose (U. smithii) (Gray, 1837)[16] | LC[17]
|
.jpg) | Short-tailed mongoose (U. brachyura) (Gray, 1837)[16] | NT[18] |
 | Indian brown mongoose (U. fusca) (Waterhouse, 1838)[19] | LC[20]
|
 | Collared mongoose (U. semitorquata) (Gray, 1846)[21] | NT[22] |
