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The steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii), also known as the white or masked polecat, is a species of mustelid native to Central and Eastern Europe and Central and East Asia.It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution, occurrence in a number of protected areas, and tolerance to some degree of habitat modification. [1]
The European polecat's closest relatives are the steppe polecat and black-footed ferret, with which it is thought to have shared Mustela stromeri as a common ancestor. The European polecat is, however, not as maximally adapted in the direction of carnivory as the steppe polecat, being less specialised in skull structure and dentition.
Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae [1] and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade ). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities to European polecats , such as having a dark mask-like marking across the face.
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).
Six extant mustelid genera left-to-right, top-to-bottom: Martes, Meles, Lutra, Gulo, Mustela, and Mellivora Mustelidae is a family of mammals in the order Carnivora, which includes weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks, and wolverines, and many other extant and extinct genera.
The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), also known as the American polecat [4] or prairie dog hunter, [5] is a species of mustelid native to central North America. The black-footed ferret is roughly the size of a mink and is similar in appearance to the European polecat and the Asian steppe polecat. It is largely nocturnal and solitary ...
Image Genus Living species Mustela Linnaeus, 1758 (weasels, ferrets, European mink and stoats): Mountain weasel, Mustela altaica; Stoat or ermine, Mustela erminea; Steppe polecat, Mustela eversmannii
Marbled polecats are found in open desert, semidesert, and semiarid rocky areas in upland valleys and low hill ranges, steppe country, and arid subtropical scrub forest. They avoid mountainous regions. [4] [6] Marbled polecats have been sighted in cultivated areas such as melon patches and vegetable fields. [8]