European polecat

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European Polecat
European Polecats
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Genus: Mustela Species: M. putorius
Binomial name
Mustela putorius (Linnaeus, 1758)

The European Polecat (Mustela putorius), also known as a fitch, is a member of the Mustelidae family, and is related to the stoats, otters, weasels and minks. Polecats are dark brown with a lighter bandit-like mask across the face, pale yellow underbody fur, a long tail and short legs. They are somewhat larger than weasels but smaller than otters, weighing between 0.7 kg for females to 1.7 kg for males.

Range, habitat and ecology

Polecats are found throughout Europe.^[1] They are mainly nocturnal and are found in woodlands, farmlands and wetlands. They often make dens in stream banks or under tree roots. Almost entirely carnivorous, they feed largely on small mammals such as voles and rats and, seasonally, on frogs and toads. Small birds and insects are a much smaller component of their diet.^[2] They require a home range of about a square kilometer. The pattern of polecat predation on frogs was found to be sex selective and predation by polecats is found to influence sex ratio, male abundance and sexual conflict in a frog mating system, restricting the opportunity for multiple mating.^[3]

Reproduction

Though polecats are chiefly polygynous, females can be polyandrous. The sexual conflict of the mating system can change with environmental conditions. Sexual conflict may result in sexually antagonistic co-evolution, in which one sex evolves a "manipulative" character which is countered by a "resistance" trait in the other sex.

Hybridisation

Polecats (mainly dark phenotype) are able to hybridise with the rare European mink and have fertile hybrids.^[4] In some parts of England the abandoning of domestic ferrets has led to ferret-polecat hybrids living in the wild. Often hybrids have a less distinct facial mask, light throat patches and lighter fur especially on the undersides. However there are some hybrids that are almost indistinguishable from pure polecats.

The native polecat has made a recovery across much of central and southern England thanks in part to reintroduction programmes. Recent DNA studies have shown that the pure native polecats have become firmly reestablished and are not becoming greatly hybridised.^[5] It has been suggested that the hybrid animals containing domesticated ferret genes are less well adapted to life in the wild than native polecats as the hybrids tend to be distributed near or beyond the main polecat range.

Other species

Other species of polecat include the Steppe Polecat (M. eversmanni) and the European Mink (M. lutreola). Most zoologists believe that the domestic ferret (M. putorius furo) is descended from the European Polecat, or possibly from a hybrid of the European and steppe varieties. The Zorilla, also called the striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus), lives in subsaharan Africa.

References

• Mustelid Specialist Group (1996). Mustela putorius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 9 May 2006.

External links

• Waarneming.nl Pictures, sightings, distribution maps of European polecats in the Netherlands.

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mustela putorius

Wikispecies has information related to:

Mustela putorius

Painting of Putorius foetidus (Mustella putorius)