Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 26, 2026

Short-tailed mongoose

The short-tailed mongoose is a mongoose species native to Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. It inhabits evergreen forest and rural gardens from sea level to an elevation of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2008.

Last revised
May 26, 2026
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≈ 1 min
Length
240 w
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Source
Short-tailed mongoose
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Herpestidae
Genus: Urva
Species:
U. brachyura
Binomial name
Urva brachyura
(Gray, 1837)
Short-tailed mongoose range
Synonyms

Herpestes brachyurus

The short-tailed mongoose (Urva brachyura) is a mongoose species native to Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. It inhabits evergreen forest and rural gardens from sea level to an elevation of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2008.1

It was first described by John Edward Gray in 1837.2

It is red-brown to black and has black limbs. The head is grayish with a black spot on the chin. Its total body length is 60–65 cm (24–26 in) including a 25 cm (9.8 in) short tail. It weighs about 1.4 kg (3.1 lb).

Subspecies

  • U. b. brachyura
  • U. b. hosei (by some considered a species, Hose's mongoose Herpestes hosei)3
  • U. b. javanensis
  • U. b. palawanus
  • U. b. parvus
  • U. b. sumatrius
References

References

  1. Duckworth, J. W.; Mathai, J.; Ross, J. & Wilting, A. (2016). "Herpestes brachyurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T41610A45206655.
  2. Gray, J. E. (1837). "Description of some or little known Mammalia, principally in the British Museum Collection". The Magazine of Natural History and Journal of Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology and Meteorology. I (November): 577–587.
  3. Francis, C.M. & Payne, J. (1985). A field guide to the mammals of Borneo. Malaysia: Sabah Society