Systematic revision of the African mongoose genus Crossarchus (Mammalia: Viverridae)

Morphometric variation in external and cranial measurements of 152 specimens of Crossarchus was analyzed by means of univariate and multivariate statistical procedures. From the results of the analyses, four species of Crossarchus are recognized: C. obscurus from Sierra Leone to Ghana, C. alexandri from Zaire and Uganda, C. ansorgei known from the holotype from Angola and a second specimen from western Zaire, and Crossarchus platycephalus n. sp. from Cameroon, Nigeria, and Benin. Crossarchus obscurus and C. platycephalus are considered monotypic, whereas two subspecies are recognized in C. alexandri: C. alexandri alexandri from northern and central Zaire and C. alexandri minor n. ssp. from extreme eastern Zaire and Uganda. Significant secondary sexual variation was lacking in all taxa studied. Little individual variation was present in geographic samples. Geographic distributions of all taxa are plotted based upon specimens examined and literature records.