The small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata) is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern India; it has also been introduced to several Caribbean and Pacific islands.
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 509–671 mm (20.0–26.4 in). 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 isolation.
The small Indian mongoose is distributed in Iraq through southeastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It has been introduced to several European countries, islands in the Caribbean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and on Okinawa in southern Japan. It lives at elevations of up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft).
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, southeastern Azad Jammu and Kashmir and in Margalla Hills National Park. In India, it was observed in forested areas of Madhya Pradesh, in Panna Tiger Reserve, Guna district, and in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.
In 2016, the European Commission added the small Indian mongoose to the annual list of invasive and alien species.
