Taxonomy
Like other feliformian carnivorans, mongooses descended from the viverravines, which were civet- or genet–like mammals. Older classifications sometimes placed mongooses in the family Viverridae, but both morphological and molecular evidence speaks against the monophyly of this group, though they do have the same basic dental formula as the viverrids. Mongooses also have characteristic behavioral features that distinguish them from viverrids and other feliformian families. Less diverse than the viverrids, the mongoose family includes 14 genera and 33 species.
Mongooses are related to the other feliformian families, including Hyaenidae (hyenas), Viverridae (civets) and Felidae (cats). They are more distantly related to the caniformian carnivorans, including the family Mustelidae, which contains weasels, badgers and otters.
Genetic evidence indicates that the family Eupleridae is the closest living group to mongooses. Eupleridae contains the fossa and the other smaller Malagasy carnivorans.
Genetic evidence from several nuclear and mitochondrial genes argues against placing Malagasy galidiines in the mongoose family; instead, these species are more closely related to other Madagascar carnivorans, including the fossa and Malagasy civet. As a result, this subfamily was moved from Herpestidae to Eupleridae.
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