biology

Brown-tailed mongoose

Brown-tailed mongoose is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Brown-tailed mongoose rather than just read about it. In short: The brown-tailed mongoose, brown-tailed vontsira, Malagasy brown-tailed mongoose, or salano (Salanoia concolor) is a species of mammal in the family Eupleridae. It is endemic to Madagascar.

Key takeaways

Brown-tailed mongoose belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Brown-tailed mongoose to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Brown-tailed mongoose from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The brown-tailed mongoose, brown-tailed vontsira, Malagasy brown-tailed mongoose, or salano (Salanoia concolor) is a species of mammal in the family Eupleridae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is moist lowland tropical forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Taxonomy The brown-tailed mongoose was first described in 1837 by French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire under the names Galidia unicolor and Galidia olivacea. He placed both in the genus Galidia, together with the ring-tailed mongoose (Galidia elegans), which is now recognized as the only species of that genus. However, the name unicolor had been a misprint for concolor, and the name was corrected in an erratum and in a later note by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. In 1865, John Edward Gray placed concolor and olivacea in their own subgenus of Galidia, which he called Salanoia. In 1882, St. George Jackson Mivart also separated olivacea and concolor from Galidia, and placed them in a separate genus Hemigalidia, without mentioning Salanoia. In his 1904 Index generum mammalium, Palmer noted that Salanoia, the first name to be published, was the proper name for the genus. Although Glover Morrill Allen, in 1939, still listed two species, which he called Salanoia olivacea and S. unicolor, by 1972 R. Albignac recognized a single species only, which he called Salanoia concolor. A second species of Salanoia, Salanoia durrelli, was described in 2010.

Notes

References

Literature cited Albignac, R. 1972. The Carnivora of Madagascar. Pp. 667–682 in Battistini, R. & Richard-Vindard, G. (eds.). Biogeography and Ecology in Madagascar. The Hague: W. Junk B.B., Publishers. Allen, G.M. 1939. A checklist of African mammals. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 83:1–763. Durbin, Joanna; Funk, Stephan M.; Hawkins, Frank; Hills, Daphne M.; Jenkins, Paulina D.; Moncrieff, Clive B.; Ralainasolo, Fidimalala Bruno (2010). "Investigations into the status of a new taxon of Salanoia(Mammalia: Carnivora: Eupleridae) from the marshes of Lac Alaotra, Madagascar". Systematics and Biodiversity. 8 (3): 341–355. Bibcode:2010SyBio...8..341D. doi:10.1080/14772001003756751. S2CID 84480153. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I. 1837. Notice sur deux nouveaux genres de Mammifères carnassiers, les Ichneumies, du continent africain, et les Galidies, de Madagascar. Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences 5:578–582 (in French). Errata. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I. 1839. Notice sur deux nouveaux genres de mammifères carnassiers, les Ichneumies, du continent African, et les Galidies, de Madagascar. Magasin de Zoologie (2)1:1–39. Gray, J.E. 1865. A revision of the genera and species of viverrine animals (Viverridae) founded on the collection in the British Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1864:502–579. Hawkins, F. (2016). "Salanoia concolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T19852A45202205. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T19852A45202205.en. Retrieved 12 June 2021. Mivart, St.G. 1882. On the classification and distribution of the Aeluroidea. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1882:135–208. Palmer, T. 1904. Index generum mammalium: a list of the genera and families of mammals. North American Fauna 23:1–984. Wozencraft, W.C. 2005. Order Carnivora. Pp. 532–628 in Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Brown-tailed mongoose

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Brown-tailed mongoose claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Brown-tailed mongoose before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Brown-tailed mongoose ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Brown-tailed mongoose

In research: Brown-tailed mongoose appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Brown-tailed mongoose in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Brown-tailed mongoose is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Carnivorans of Africa, Endemic fauna of Madagascar, Eupleridae, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Brown-tailed mongoose outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Brown-tailed mongoose in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Brown-tailed mongoose means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Brown-tailed mongoose in simple terms?

The brown-tailed mongoose, brown-tailed vontsira, Malagasy brown-tailed mongoose, or salano (Salanoia concolor) is a species of mammal in the family Eupleridae. It is endemic to Madagascar.

Why does Brown-tailed mongoose matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Brown-tailed mongoose?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Brown-tailed mongoose.