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The ferret (Mustela furo) is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (Mustela putorius), as evidenced by the ferret's ability to interbreed with European polecats and produce hybrid offspring. Physically, ferrets resemble other mustelids because ...
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.
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. A member of this family is called a mustelid; Mustelidae is the largest family in Carnivora, and its extant species are divided into eight subfamilies .
Sthenictis sp. (American Museum of Natural History). Mustelids vary greatly in size and behaviour. The smaller variants of the least weasel can be under 20 cm (8 in) in length, while the giant otter of Amazonian South America can measure up to 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) and sea otters can exceed 45 kg (99 lb) in weight.
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 ...
Genus Vormela. Marbled polecat, V. peregusna (Southeastern Europe to western China) Subfamily Mustelinae. 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)
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Weasels / ˈ w iː z əl z / are mammals of the genus Mustela of the family Mustelidae. The genus Mustela includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodies and short legs.