The small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata) is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern South Asia; it has also been introduced to many regions of the world, such as several Caribbean and Pacific islands. Taxonomy Mangusta auropunctata was the scientific name proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1836 for a mongoose specimen collected in central Nepal. It was later classified in the genus Herpestes, but all Asian mongooses are now thought to belong in the genus Urva. In the 19th and 20th centuries, several zoological specimens were described: Mangusta pallipes proposed by Edward Blyth in 1845 were mongooses observed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Herpestes palustris proposed by R. K. Ghose in 1965 was an adult male mongoose collected in a swamp on the eastern fringe of Kolkata, India. The small Indian mongoose was once considered a subspecies of the Javan mongoose (H. javanicus). Genetic analysis of hair and tissue samples from 18 small Indian and Javan mongooses revealed that they form two clades and are distinct species. Characteristics The small Indian mongoose's body is slender, and the head is elongated with a pointed snout. The length of the head and body is . The ears are short. The feet have five toes and long claws. Sexes differ in size, with males having a wider head and bigger bodies. It can be distinguished from the often sympatric Indian grey mongoose (U. edwardsii) by its somewhat smaller size. Populations on islands throughout the world have increased in size and sexual dimorphism, resembling populations in the east of their range, where they have no ecological competitors. Introduced populations show genetic diversification due to genetic drift and population isolation. Distribution and habitat The small Indian mongoose is distributed in Iraq, southeastern Iran, Afghanistan to Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It has been introduced to several European countries as well as islands in the Caribbean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It lives up to an elevation of . In Iraq, the small Indian mongoose lives in the alluvial plains of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, where it inhabits riverine thickets, crop fields and orchards. It was also observed in the Hammar Marshes. In Iran, it was recorded only in a few localities in the south and east, in particular in Kerman Province. In Pakistan, it occurs on the Pothohar Plateau, in Sialkot District, in southeastern Azad Jammu and Kashmir and in Margalla Hills National