Polecat
Polecat is the common name for mammals in the order Carnivora and subfamily Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank; the name is applied to several species broadly similar to European polecats, the only species living natively on the British Isles.
In the United States, the term polecat is sometimes applied to the black-footed ferret, a native member of the Mustelinae, and loosely to skunks, which are only distantly related.
Despite the name, polecats are more related to dogs than cats, since they belong to the suborder of Caniformiae.
Taxonomy
According to the taxonomic theory proposing two subfamilies within Mustelidae, the polecats are classified as:
Subfamily Mustelinae
- Genus Ictonyx
- Striped polecat, I. striatus, (native to Central, Southern, and sub-Saharan Africa)
- Saharan striped polecat, I. libycus (Sahara)
- Genus Mustela
- Steppe polecat, M. eversmannii (Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia)
- American polecat (Black-footed ferret) M. nigripes (Southwest United States)
- European polecat, M. putorius (Western Eurasia and North Africa)
- Genus Vormela
- Marbled polecat, V. peregusna (Southeastern Europe to western China)
A more recent classification based on genetic analysis suggests that Mustelidae should be divided into eight subfamilies, one of which is the Mustelinae.[1]
-
Striped polecat -
Steppe polecat -
American polecat -
European polecat -
Marbled polecat
References
- ^ Koepfli KP, Deere KA, Slater GJ, et al. (2008). "Multigene phylogeny of the Mustelidae: resolving relationships, tempo and biogeographic history of a mammalian adaptive radiation". BMC Biology. 6: 10. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-6-10. PMC 2276185. PMID 18275614.
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