The Javan mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) belongs to the genus Herpestes, order Carnivora, a species that lives in diverse habitats, such as rainforests, agricultural areas and rice paddies. This species mainly feeds on other vertebrates, including insects, arachnids, molluscs, fish, reptiles, birds and small mammals (Chutipong et al., 2016). Their diet also includes various types of fruit (Haligur et al., 2020).Overall, Herpestidae comprise 33 species from 14 genera, with only one genus (Herpestes) occurring in Asia (Wozencraft, 2005).Previous molecular studies on Herpestidae suggested the existence of two main clades: (1) true social mongooses (Crossarchus, Helogale, Liberiictis, Mungos and Suricata) and (2) solitary mongooses (i.e. the yellow mongoose Cynictis penicillata). Furthermore, these studies suggest a single origin of eusociality (Flynn et al., 2005;Perez et al., 2006;Veron et al., 2004). The molecular analysis also highlights that Herpestes are not monophyletic by demonstrating