European polecat

The European polecat, also known as the black polecat and forest polecat, is a mustelid species occurring in Europe and the Rif mountains. 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.
It is much less territorial than other mustelids, with animals of the same sex frequently sharing home ranges. Like other mustelids, the European polecat is polygamous, with pregnancy occurring after mating, following induced ovulation. It usually gives birth in early summer to litters consisting of five to ten kits, which become independent at the age of two to three months. The European polecat feeds on small rodents, birds, amphibians and reptiles. It occasionally cripples its prey by piercing its brain with its teeth and stores it, still living, in its burrow for future consumption.
The European polecat originated in Western Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, with its closest living relatives being the steppe polecat, the black-footed ferret and the European mink. With the two former species, it can produce fertile offspring, though hybrids between it and the latter species tend to be sterile, and are distinguished from their parent species by their larger size and more valuable pelts.
The European polecat is thought to be the sole ancestor of the ferret, which was domesticated more than 2,000 years ago for the purpose of hunting vermin. The species has otherwise been historically viewed negatively by humans. In Britain especially, the polecat was persecuted by gamekeepers, and became synonymous with promiscuity in early English literature. During modern times, the polecat is still scantly represented in popular culture when compared to other rare British mammals, and misunderstandings of its behaviour still persist in some rural areas. Since 2008, it has been classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide range and large numbers.

Etymology and naming

The word "polecat" first appeared after the Norman Conquest of England, written as polcat. While the second syllable is largely self-explanatory, the origin of the first is unclear. It is possibly derived from the French poule, meaning "chicken", likely in reference to the species' fondness for poultry, or it may be a variant of the Old English ful, meaning "foul". In Middle English, the species was referred to as foumart, meaning "foul marten", in reference to its strong odour. In Old French, the polecat was called fissau, which was derived from the Low German and Scandinavian verb for "to make a disagreeable smell". This was later corrupted in English as fitchew or fitchet, which itself became the word "fitch", which is used for the polecat's pelt. The word fitchet is the root word for the North American fisher, which was named by Dutch colonists in America who noted similarities between the two species. In some countries such as New Zealand, the term "fitch" has taken on a wider use to refer to related creatures such as ferrets, especially when farmed for their fur.
A 2002 article in The Mammal Society's Mammal Review contested the European polecat's status as an animal indigenous to Britain on account of a scarce fossil record and linguistic evidence. Unlike most native British mammals, the polecat's Welsh name is not of Celtic origin, much as the Welsh names of invasive species such as the European rabbit and fallow deer are of Middle English or Old French origin. Polecats are not mentioned in Anglo-Saxon or Welsh literature prior to the Norman conquest of England in 1066, with the first recorded mention of the species in the Welsh language occurring in the 14th century's Llyfr Coch Hergest and in English in Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale. In contrast, attestations of the Welsh word for pine marten, date back at least to the 10th century Welsh Laws and possibly much earlier in northern England.

Local and indigenous names

Dialectal English names

Linguistic group or area	Dialectal name
Anglo-Manx	Foul-cat
Craven/Leeds/South Lancashire	Pow-cat
Durham	Foomart
Herefordshire	Fitchuck
Lancashire	Foomurt
Scots	Foumart, Thummurt, Thoomurt

Latin name

As well as the several indigenous names referring to smell, the scientific name Mustela putorius is also derived from this species' foul smell. The Latin putorius translates to "stench" or "stink" and is the origin of the English word putrid.

Evolution

The earliest true polecat was Mustela stromeri, which appeared during the late Villafranchian. It was considerably smaller than the present form, thus indicating polecats evolved at a relatively late period. The oldest modern polecat fossils occur in Germany, Britain and France, and date back to the Middle Pleistocene. 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. The European polecat likely diverged from the steppe polecat 1.5 million years ago based on IRBP, though cytochrome b transversions indicate a younger date of 430,000 years. It is also closely related to the European mink, with which it can hybridise.

Domestication

, cytological and molecular studies confirm the European polecat is the sole ancestor of the ferret, thus disproving any connection with the steppe polecat, which was once thought to have contributed to the ferret's creation. Ferrets were first mentioned by Aristophanes in 425 BC and by Aristotle in 350 BC. Greek and Roman writers in the first century AD were the first to attest on the ferret's use in bolting rabbits from their burrows. The first accurate descriptions of ferrets come from Strabo during 200 AD, when ferrets were released onto the Balearic Islands to control rabbit populations. As the European rabbit is native to the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa, the European polecat likely was first domesticated in these regions.
The ferret and European polecat are similar in both size and portions, to the point that dark-coloured ferrets are almost indistinguishable from their wild cousins, though the ferret's skull has a smaller cranial volume, and has a narrower postorbital constriction. Compared to the European polecat, the ferret has a much smaller brain, though this comparison has not been made with Mediterranean polecats, from which ferrets likely derive. The theory of a Mediterranean origin is further strengthened because the ferret is less tolerant of cold than northern polecat subspecies. Unlike other subspecies, which are largely solitary, the ferret will readily live in social groups. The ferret is also slower in all its movements than the polecat, and hardly ever makes any use of its anal scent glands. Overall, the ferret represents a neotenous form of polecat.

Subspecies

, seven subspecies are recognised.

Subspecies	Trinomial authority	Description	Range	Synonyms
Common polecat M. p. putorius	Linnaeus, 1758	Larger than mosquensis, with darker, fluffier and more lustrous fur	Western European Russia, western Belarus, western Ukraine, Central and Western Europe and North Africa	flavicans foetens foetidus iltis infectus manium putorius verus vison vulgaris
Welsh polecat M. p. anglia	Pocock, 1936		England and Wales
Mediterranean polecat M. p. aureola	Barrett-Hamilton, 1904	A small subspecies with yellowish underfur; it may be the ancestral subspecies from which the domestic ferret is derived, based on the characteristics of the teeth.	The southern and western portions of the Iberian Peninsula
†Scottish polecat M. p. caledoniae	Tetley, 1939		Scotland
Domestic ferret M. p. furo	Linnaeus, 1758	A domesticated form, its skull is generally typical in conformation to the nominate subspecies, though with features in common with the steppe polecat. Typically, the dark facial fur does not extend to the nose, while the pale cheek patches are very extensive and contrast poorly with the dark mask. One or more paws may be white, with white guard hairs often being well distributed over the body, particularly on the hind quarters.	Worldwide in association with humans	albus furoputorius subrufo
Middle Russian polecat M. p. mosquensis	Heptner, 1966	A small subspecies, with relatively light, slightly fluffy fur with little lustre	European Russia	orientalis orientalis ognevi
Carpathian polecat M. p. rothschildi	Pocock, 1932	A very lightly coloured subspecies, its fur closely approaches that of the steppe polecat.	Dobruja, Romania