MammalBase - Accepted taxon: Crossarchus obscurus

Accepted taxon: Crossarchus obscurus
Taxon:	Crossarchus obscurus
Rank:	Species
Higher Classification:	CARNIVORA \| FELIFORMIA \| Herpestidae \| Crossarchus
Reference:	Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), JHU Press, 2005.

Fig.1 - Ternary plot of the proximate analysis for the Crossarchus obscurus diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 5, ASH (Ash contents) 11, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 17, CP (Crude Protein) 53, EE (Ether Extract) 14. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 1. List of Diet Items for Crossarchus obscurus.
TSN Complete name	Part	Ratio ^a.	Reference(s)
Arthropoda	WHOLE	14.29	Grzimek,B…
Oligochaeta	WHOLE	11.90	Grzimek,B…
Insecta	WHOLE	11.11	Damuth, J…
Magnoliopsida	FRUIT	9.72	Damuth, J…
Insecta	LARVAE	9.72	Damuth, J…
Rodentia	WHOLE	9.52	Grzimek,B…
Reptilia	WHOLE	8.33	Damuth, J…
Anura	WHOLE	7.14	Grzimek,B…
Brachyura	WHOLE	6.94	Damuth, J…
Serpentes	WHOLE	4.76	Grzimek,B…
Gastropoda	WHOLE	2.78	Damuth, J…
Alethinophidia	WHOLE	2.38	Grzimek,B…
Vertebrata	EGGS	1.39	Damuth, J…

^a. Standardized values. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 2. List of Standard Traits for Crossarchus obscurus.
Trait	Selected Value	All Value(s)	Reference(s)
Dietary category: Miljutin 2009	Animalivore	Animalivore, Frugivore	– A. R. Friscia, B. Van Valkenburgh, A. R. Biknevicius, 2007, 'An ecomorphological analysis of extant small carnivorans', Journal of Zoology, vol. 272, no. 1, pp. 82-100, Djagoun,S., 2009, Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure, Small Carnivore Conservation, John L. Gittleman, 1985, 'Carnivore body size: Ecological and taxonomic correlates', Oecologia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 540-554, Juhn, M., Balisi, M., Doughty, E., Friscia, A., Howenstine, A., Jacquemetton, C., Marcot, J., Nugen, S., Van Valkenburgh, B. 2024. Cenozoic climate change and the evolution of North American mammalian predator ecomorphology. Paleobiology. None(None), pp.1-10. Available at: 10.1017/pab.2024.27.
Temporal habits	diurnal	diurnal	– Djagoun,S., 2009, Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure, Small Carnivore Conservation, John L. Gittleman, 1985, 'Carnivore body size: Ecological and taxonomic correlates', Oecologia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 540-554
Locomotion: Eisenberg 1981	Terrestrial	Scansonal, Terrestrial	– Djagoun,S., 2009, Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure, Small Carnivore Conservation, John L. Gittleman, 1985, 'Carnivore body size: Ecological and taxonomic correlates', Oecologia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 540-554
Dietary category: Eisenberg 1981	Insectivore	Frugivore-omnivore, Insectivore	– A. R. Friscia, B. Van Valkenburgh, A. R. Biknevicius, 2007, 'An ecomorphological analysis of extant small carnivorans', Journal of Zoology, vol. 272, no. 1, pp. 82-100, Djagoun,S., 2009, Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure, Small Carnivore Conservation, Juhn, M., Balisi, M., Doughty, E., Friscia, A., Howenstine, A., Jacquemetton, C., Marcot, J., Nugen, S., Van Valkenburgh, B. 2024. Cenozoic climate change and the evolution of North American mammalian predator ecomorphology. Paleobiology. None(None), pp.1-10. Available at: 10.1017/pab.2024.27.

Table 3. List of Standard Measurements for Crossarchus obscurus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	-	-	-	-	454	-	2,300	-	Freudenth…
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	-	-	-	-	-	1,395	-	-	Juhn, M.,…

Table 4. List of other Measurements ^b. for Crossarchus obscurus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
femur circumference	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	16	-	-	Nelson, A…
humerus circumference	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	Nelson, A…
neck length	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	45	-	-	Nelson, A…
relative blade length (RBL)	nan	unitless	-	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	Juhn, M.S…

^b. other Measurements. Source Measurements which are not listed on or mapped with the Standard Traits..

Table 5. List of Data Sources for Crossarchus obscurus.
Taxon	Reference	Match	Status
Crossarchus obscurus	Djagoun,S., 2009, Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure, Small Carnivore Conservation	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Gittleman,J. L., 1985, Carnivore body size: ecological and taxonomic correlates, Oecologia	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Friscia,AR, 2006, An ecomorphological analysis of extant small carnivorans, Journal of zoology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Damuth, J. 2010. ABSOLUT 6 a mammalian database compiled by the national center for ecological analysis and synthesis (NCEAS ) workshop on mammalian communities.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Grzimek,B., 2003, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I-V,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Law, C.J., Blackwell, E.A., Curtis, A.A., Dickinson, E., Hartstone‐Rose, A. and Santana, S.E., 2022. Decoupled evolution of the cranium and mandible in carnivoran mammals. Evolution.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	DeMers, A.C., 2023. Functional Significance of the Mandible, Tooth Roots, and Tooth Crowns, and their Implications for Fossil Dietary Inference (Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University).	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Nelson, A., Engelman, R.K. and Croft, D.A., 2023. How to weigh a fossil mammal? South American notoungulates as a case study for estimating body mass in extinct clades. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 30(3), pp.773-809.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Freudenthal, M. and Martín-Suárez, E., 2013. Estimating body mass of fossil rodents. Scripta Geologica, 145, pp.1-513.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Juhn, M.S., Balisi, M.A., Doughty, E.M., Friscia, A.R., Howenstine, A.O., Jacquemetton, C., Marcot, J., Nugen, S. and Van Valkenburgh, B., 2024. Cenozoic climate change and the evolution of North American mammalian predator ecomorphology. Paleobiology, pp.1-10.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Beaudrot, L., Acevedo, M.A., Gorczynski, D. and Harris, N.C., 2024. Geographic differences in body size distributions underlie food web connectance of tropical forest mammals. Scientific Reports, 14(1), pp.1-10.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Crossarchus obscurus	Rowan, J., Beaudrot, L., Franklin, J., Reed, K.E., Smail, I.E., Zamora, A. and Kamilar, J.M., 2020. Geographically divergent evolutionary and ecological legacies shape mammal biodiversity in the global tropics and subtropics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(3), pp.1559-1565.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted

Citation for this page: [The MammalBase community 2026. / CC BY 4.0. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7462864 Crossarchus obscurus , Accessed 30th April 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/14235]