Putorius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Putorius | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | Mustela |
| Subgenus: | Putorius Cuvier, 1817 |
| Species | |
Polecats (subgenus Putorius) are mustelids in the genus Mustela. It includes four living species — the black-footed ferret or American polecat (Mustela nigripes), the domestic ferret (Mustela furo), the European polecat (Mustela putorius), and the steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii). Polecats share the genus Mustela with members of the subgenera Lutreola and Mustela.
Putorius was first described in 1817 by Georges Cuvier and included multiple related species. This was until 1877 when Putorius was reclassified to only include three species. In 1982, the subgenus Cynomyonax (black-footed ferrets) was merged into Putorius. The common ancestor of all species in Putorius used to live in central Eurasia. Eventually, a population of steppe polecat migrated to North America and evolved into the black-footed ferret.
Extant species
A subgenus with the name Putorius was first described by Georges Cuvier in his 1817 work Le Règne Animal (The Animal Kingdom). Steppe polecats and black-footed ferrets had not yet been described until 1827 and 1851 respectively. This original Putorius classification featured a much more wider array of animals, which included the European polecat and domestic ferret, alongside the American mink ("Polecat of the North American rivers"), Amazon weasel ("African ferret"), European mink, least weasel, marbled polecat, Malayan weasel, Siberian weasel, stoat, striped polecat, and "striped Madagascar ferret".[1]
In 1877, American historian Elliott Coues split the Putorius into multiple subgenuses and reclassified only the European polecat, domestic ferret and steppe polecat into Putorius. The black-footed ferret, which had features of Putorius and Gale (a subgenus split from Putorius), was put into its own subgenus Cynomyonax.[2] The modern classification arose in 1982 when Phillip M. Youngman placed the black-footed ferret into Putorius.[3] The ancestor of modern polecats and ferrets and earliest true polecat is considered to be Mustela stromeri, a smaller species whose size indicated polecats evolved at a late period.
| Name | Distribution | Subspecies | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black-footed ferret or American polecat (Mustela nigripes) | Several pockets of land in central North America; in Canada, the United States, and Mexico | Monotypic[4] |  |
| Domestic ferret (Mustela furo) | Worldwide (domesticated), New Zealand (non-native)[5] | May be considered a subspecies of Mustela putorius. |  |
| European polecat (Mustela putorius) | Europe, Morocco, and northern Asia | 6 or 7[6] | .JPG) |
| Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) | Southeast Europe; northern and southern Asia | 7[7] |  |
