Suricata is a genus of mongoose that is endemic to Africa. The oldest species known is the extinct Suricata major that lived about 1.8 million years ago in South Africa.[1][2] The only species alive is the meerkat (Suricata suricatta).
Suricata Temporal range: Early Pleistocene - Recent
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Meerkat (Suricata suricatta) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | Herpestidae |
Subfamily: | Mungotinae |
Genus: | Suricata Desmarest, 1804 |
Type species | |
Mustela suricatta Schreber, 1776
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Species | |
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References
edit- ^ Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (2010). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. p. 631. ISBN 9780520257214.
- ^ Avery, D. Margaret (2019). A Fossil History of Southern African Land Mammals. Cambridge University Press. p. 104. ISBN 9781108480888.