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Putorius
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Genus:	Mustela
Subgenus:	Putorius Cuvier, 1817
Species
Mustela eversmannii Mustela furo Mustela nigripes Mustela putorius

Putorius is a subgenus of mustelids in the genus Mustela. It includes four 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). These mustelids are commonly referred to as "polecats" or "ferrets".

Etymology

The name "Putorius" comes from the Latin word pūtor, meaning "foul odor", "stench", or "stink", referring to the polecat and ferret's smell. This name has also been given to skunks.

Taxonomy

Putorius was first described by Georges Cuvier in his 1817 work Le Règne Animal (The Animal Kingdom). Steppe polecats and American polecats had not yet been described until 1827 and 1851 respectively. The original classification had a more wider array of animals, which included the European polecat and domestic ferret, alongside the American mink ("Polecat of the North American rivers"), Amazon weasel ("African ferret"), European mink, least weasel, marbled polecat, Malayan weasel, Siberian weasel, stoat, striped polecat, and "striped Madagascar ferret".

In 1877, American historian Elliott Coues split the original Putorius into multiple subgenuses, and reclassified only the European polecat, domestic ferret and steppe polecat into Putorius. The black-footed ferret, which had features of Putorius and Gale (a subgenus split from Putorius), was put into its own subgenus Cynomyonax. The modern classification arose in 1982 when Phillip M. Youngman placed the black-footed ferret into Putorius. The ancestor of modern polecats and ferrets and earliest true polecat is considered to be Mustela stromeri, a smaller species whose size indicated polecats evolved at a late period.

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List lists European and steppe polecats as "Least Concern" as both have widespread areas with large population. However, black-footed polecats are listed as "Endangered" and it is estimated that there are 350 black-footed ferrets living in the wild. The main threats to black-footed polecats are disease, habitat loss, and human-introduced diseases. The European polecat's main threat is vehicle collisions, and other threats include traps and poisoning through rats and other small mammals exposed to rodenticides.

References

1. Audubon, John James; Bachman, John (1854). The Quadrupeds of North America. V.G. Audubon.
2. Natural History of Oregon Coast Mammals. Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1981.
3. Cuvier, F. (1816). Cuvier, G. (ed.). Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Vol. I. Paris: Deterville. pp. 147–149.
4. Coues, Elliott (1877). Fur-bearing Animals. A Monograph of North American Mustelidæ. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-385-56054-3.
5. Youngman, Phillip M. (1982). Distribution and Systematics of the European Mink Mustela Lutreola Linnaeus 1761. Finnish Zoological Pub. Board. ISBN 978-951-9481-11-1.
6. "Black-footed Ferret Conservation". CMZoo. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
7. "Polecats – Genuine Mustelids". www.genuinemustelids.org. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
8. "European polecat guide: species facts, how to identify, and the threats they face". Discover Wildlife. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2024-12-16.

• Weasels
• Animal subgenera