European Polecat
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| European Polecat | ||||||||||||||
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 European Polecats
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| Mustela putorius (Linnaeus, 1758) |
- This article is about a species of mammal referred to as "Polecat". For other uses, see Polecat (disambiguation).
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, weighing between 0.7 kg for females to 1.7 kg for males, but smaller than otters.
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[edit] 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]
[edit] Reproduction
Though polecats are chiefly polygynous, females can show polyandry and the sexual conflict aspect 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. 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 that are almost indistinguishable from pure polecats.
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Mapmaker at european-mammals.org, accessed November 2007 [1]
- ^ Lodé, T. (2000) Functional response and area-restricted search in a predator: seasonal exploitation of anurans by the European polecat, Mustela putorius Austral Ecology 25 (3), 223–231.
- ^ Lodé, T., Hovleck, M.J., LesBarreres, D. & Pagano, A. (2004). Sex-biased predation by polecats influences the mating system of frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, (suppl.), Biology Letters: 271 (S6): S399-S401
- ^ Lodé T., Guiral G. & Peltier D. (2005) European mink-polecat hybridisation events: hazards from natural process ? Journal of Heredity 96 (2): 1-8
- Mustelid Specialist Group (1996). Mustela putorius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 9 May 2006.
[edit] External links
- Waarneming.nl Pictures, sightings, distribution maps of European polecats in the Netherlands.
[edit] Gallery
.jpg/120px-Brehms_Het_Leven_der_Dieren_Zoogdieren_Orde_4_Bunzing_(Putorius_foetidus).jpg) Painting of Putorius foetidus (Mustella putorius) |
