Skull, mandible and hyoid apparatus in the Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii): A comprehensive anatomical study

Abstract

Mongooses are some of the small carnivores that occupy a wide range of habitats, from deserts to subtropical forests, across their natural range in Africa and Asia. The Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii) is a species found in southern Asia, particularly India, Pakistan and Iran (Kamali et al., 2015). The Indian grey mongoose has five toes with retractable claws and a robust tapered tail, and the males are larger than females, significantly. This species belongs to the family Herpestidae and the superorder to Feliforma, but is much more agile, faster and predator than a domestic cat. Due to the high reproduction of this animal, there is the least concern about the risk of its extinction .The skull forms the head skeleton, protecting the brain, eyes and ears, besides housing teeth (König & Leibich, 2020;Mohamed, 2019).At the same time, the difference in the skull and mandible in terms