NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Yellow Mongoose
Cynictis penicillata (G. Cuvier, 1829)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Yellow mongoose in Khomas Region, Namibia
Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata), sometimes referred to as the red meerkat, is a member of the mongoose family. It averages about 0.45 kg (1 lb) in weight and about 510 mm (20 in) in length. It lives in open country, semi-desert scrubland and grasslands in Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. It is the only species in the genus Cynictis.
Wikipedia contributors, Yellow mongoose; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:35:56.554186+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cynictis penicillata (G. Cuvier, 1829)
- Name authority
- (G. Cuvier, 1829)
- Common name
- Yellow Mongoose
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Herpestidae
- Genus
- Cynictis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderCarnivora Bowdich, 1821
- suborderFeliformia Kretzoi, 1945
- familyHerpestidae Bonaparte, 1845
- subfamilyHerpestinae Bonaparte, 1845
- genusCynictis Ogilby, 1833
- speciesCynictis penicillata (G. Cuvier, 1829)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cynictis penicillata brachyura Roberts, 1924 Roberts, 1924 | synonym |
| Cynictis penicillata intensa Schwann, 1906 Schwann, 1906 | synonym |
| Cynictis penicillata cinderella Thomas, 1927 Thomas, 1927 | synonym |
| Cynictis penicillata pallidior Thomas & Schwann, 1904 Thomas & Schwann, 1904 | synonym |
| Cynictis penicillata ogilbyii A. Smith, 1834 A. Smith, 1834 | synonym |
| Cynictis penicillata karasensis Roberts, 1938 Roberts, 1938 | synonym |
| Cynictis penicillata lepturus A. Smith, 1839 A. Smith, 1839 | synonym |
| Cynictis penicillata kalaharica Roberts, 1932 Roberts, 1932 | synonym |
| Herpestes penicillatus G. Cuvier, 1829 G. Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=621887 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:CFQF2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.