| Mustela stromeri | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | Mustela |
| Species: | †M. stromeri |
| Binomial name | |
| †Mustela stromeri (Kormos, 1934) | |
| Synonyms | |
Putorius stromeriKormos, 1934 | |
Mustela stromeri is an extinct medium-sized species of mustelid and was the earliest known true species of polecat. It is ancestral to all modern ferrets and polecats. [1]
Mustela stromeri, along with a number of other mustelid species, was first described by Hungarian geologist Tivadar Kormos in 1934, in the large village of Beremend. [2] Its smaller size suggests that the subgenus Putorius (ferrets and polecats) evolved at a more recent date, presumably during the Villafranchian. [3]
Mustela stromeri is ancestral to modern ferrets and polecats. The steppe polecat and European polecat evolved from Mustela stromeri in the Middle Pleistocene, whereas the black-footed ferret probably evolved from the former around 0.5 to 2 million years ago. [4]
Mustela stromeri was a mustelid believed have lived in vast territories of central Eurasia until its extinction during the Middle Pleistocene. [5] Often, Mustela stromeri was found in Eastern Europe. [6] Its remains have been unearthed in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania, [7] and date from the Villafranchian to the Günz II stadial.
As Mustela stromeri has been only described by fragmentary remains, its appearance and behaviours are not well-known. It was smaller in size in comparison to modern ferrets and polecats, though medium-sized for mustelids overall. [7] Mustela stromeri's behaviour is disputed, as both kinds of polecats in Europe have contrasting habits. [3]
The Mustelidae are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids, they form the largest family in the suborder Caniformia of the order Carnivora with about 66 to 70 species in nine subfamilies.
Weasels 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. The family Mustelidae, or mustelids, is often referred to as the "weasel family". In the UK, the term "weasel" usually refers to the smallest species, the least weasel (M. nivalis), the smallest carnivoran species.
The stoat, also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The name ermine is used especially in its pure white winter coat of the stoat or its fur. Ermine fur was used in the 15th century by Catholic monarchs, who sometimes used it as the mozzetta cape. It has long been used on the ceremonial robes of members of the United Kingdom House of Lords. It was also used in capes on images such as the Infant Jesus of Prague.
The ferret is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat, as evidenced by the ferret's ability to interbreed with European polecats and produce hybrid offspring. Physically, ferrets resemble other mustelids because of their long, slender bodies. Including their tail, the average length of a ferret is about 50 cm (20 in); they weigh between 0.7 and 2.0 kg ; and their fur can be black, brown, white, or a mixture of those colours. The species is sexually dimorphic, with males being considerably larger than females.
The Black-footed ferret, also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of mustelid native to central North America.
The European polecat, also known as the common polecat, black polecat and forest polecat, is a mustelid species native to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark mask across the face. Occasionally, colour mutations including albinos, leucists, isabellinists, xanthochromists, amelanists, and erythrists occur. It has a shorter, more compact body than other Mustela species, a more powerfully built skull and dentition, is less agile, and is well known for having the characteristic ability to secrete a particularly foul-smelling liquid to mark its territory.
The least weasel, little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus Mustela, family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Malta, Crete, the Azores, and São Tomé. It is classified as least concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
The European mink, also known as the Russian mink and Eurasian mink, is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to Europe.
The steppe polecat, 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. It is generally of a very light yellowish colour, with dark limbs and a dark mask across the face. Compared to its relative, the European polecat, the steppe polecat is larger in size and has a more powerfully built skull.
Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank. The name is applied to several species with broad similarities to European polecats, such as having a dark mask-like marking across the face.
Thierry Lodé is a French biologist and professor of evolutionary ecology in a CNRS lab at the University of Rennes 1.
Palaeogale is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammal known from the Late Eocene, Oligocene, and Early Miocene of North America, Europe, and Eastern Asia. A small carnivore often associated with the mustelids, Palaeogale might have been similar to living genets, civets, and linsangs.
A polecat–ferret hybrid is a hybrid between a wild European polecat and a domesticated ferret. Offspring of such a cross between the two animals typically have a distinct white throat patch, white feet and white hairs interspersed among the fur. It is currently impossible to distinguish pure polecats from hybrids through DNA analysis, as the two forms are too closely related and inter-mixed to be separated through current (2010) genetic methods.
A polecat–mink hybrid, also known as khor'-tumak by furriers and khonorik by fanciers, is a hybrid between a European polecat and a European mink (M. lutreola). Such hybridisation is very rare in the wild, and typically only occurs where European mink are declining. The two species likely began hybridising during the early 20th century, when Northern Europe underwent a warm climatic period which coincided with an expansion of the range of the polecat into the mink's habitat.
Canis arnensis, is an extinct species of canine that was endemic to Mediterranean Europe during the Early Pleistocene. Canis arnensis has been described as a small jackal-like canid. Its anatomy and morphology relate it more to the modern golden jackal than to the larger Etruscan wolf of that time. It is probably the ancestor of modern jackals.
Canis etruscus, is an extinct species of canine that was endemic to Mediterranean Europe during the Early Pleistocene. The Etruscan wolf is described as a small wolf-like dog. It is widely agreed to be the ancestor of Canis mosbachensis, and thus ultimately the modern grey wolf.
Canis mosbachensis is an extinct wolf that inhabited Europe from the late Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene, around 1.4 million to 400,000 years ago. Canis mosbachensis is widely considered to have descended from the earlier Canis etruscus, and to be the ancestor of the living grey wolf with some considering it as a subspecies of the wolf as Canis lupus mosbachensis. The morphological distinction between C. mosbachensis and C. lupus has historically been vague, and attribution of fossils to C. mosbachensis or to C. lupus around the transition time between the two species is ambiguous.
Enhydrictis is a genus of extinct mustelid, belonging to the subfamily Galictinae. The type species, and best known, is Enhydrictis galictoides from the Pleistocene of Sardinia and Corsica. Some authors attribute species from mainland Eurasia to the genus, but this is disputed, with others considering the genus endemic to Sardinia-Corsica.