The Herpestidae are small terrestrial carnivores comprising 18 African and Asian genera, currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Galidiinae. The aim of this work was to resolve intra-familial relationships and to test the origin of sociality in the group. For this purpose we analysed sequences of the complete cytochrome b gene for 18 species of Herpestidae. The results sho...

The disease bovine besnoitiosis is responsible for severe economic losses caused by the protozoan Besnoitia besnoiti. The identity of the definitive host (DH) of this parasite has yet to be determined, although it is presumed to be a carnivore. With the aim of advancing in the identification of B. besnoiti DH, a necessary step in implementing control strategies, the contact rate of 205 free-roa...

The small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) is one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species (IUCN 2000). It has negative impacts on several small mammals on islands where it was introduced. We assess the abundance of small mammal populations and the activity time of introduced ship rats (Rattus rattus) on three mongoose-infested and three mongoose-free islands in the Adriatic Sea, Croa...

In March 2012, live trapping surveys were conducted for invasive small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Forty mongoose were sampled (31%, 9&) for ectoparasites, and cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) were discovered on 17 individuals. There was no difference in the number of ectoparasites per mongoose across age classifications (r = 0.109, P = 0.579). H...

Knowing the distribution of expanding carnivore species is paramount for identifying and addressing potential human–wildlife conflicts. Occupancy models are useful tools to estimate probability detection wildlife species. In this study, we used these with an empirical dataset compare different survey methods their combinations in order optimize estimated central Iberian Peninsula Egyptian mongo...