The marbled polecat, Vormela peregusna, is a small mustelid of the subfamily Ictonychinae and the only living member of the genus Vormela. It is generally found in the drier areas and grasslands of southeastern Europe to western China. The oldest scientific description was published in 1770 by the Baltic German naturalist Johann Anton Guldenstadt, who reported the species living in the steppes of the lower Don River area, in what is now Rostov Oblast. Like other members of the Ictonychinae, it can emit a strong-smelling secretion from anal sacs under the tail when threatened, expelling a foul-smelling fluid from its enlarged anal glands. In 2008 the IUCN Red List classified it as a vulnerable species because of a reduction in its population, after it had been considered a species of least concern in 1996.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Living or Extinct Conservation Status Activity Pattern Connections
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Source Marbled polecatLead, systemQuote, Lead, system
Marbled polecats are generally found in the drier areas and grasslands of southeastern Europe to western China.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Marbled polecatLead, systemQuote, Lead, system
Marbled polecats are generally found in the drier areas and grasslands of southeastern Europe to western China.
Sources
1. Marbled polecat
Section: Conservation status
In 2008, the marbled polecat was classified as a vulnerable species in the IUCN Red List due to a population reduction of at least 30% in the previous 10 years.
Lead
The marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna) is a small mustelid belonging to the subfamily Ictonychinae.
Lead, system
Marbled polecats are generally found in the drier areas and grasslands of southeastern Europe to western China.
Behaviour, activity
== Behaviour and ecology == The marbled polecat is most active during the morning and evening.
Diet
=== Diet === Marbled polecats are known to eat ground squirrels, Libyan jirds (Meriones libycus), Armenian hamsters (Cricetulus migratorius), voles, Palestine mole-rats (Spalax lecocon ehrenbergi), house mice (Mus musculus), and other rodents, small hares, birds, lizards, fish, frogs, snails, and insects (beetles and crickets), as well as fruit and grass.
In Biome: Steppe, Section: Taxonomy
The oldest scientific description of a marbled polecat was published in 1770, when Baltic German naturalist Johann Anton Güldenstädt reported the species living in the steppes of the lower Don River area in what is now Rostov Oblast, Russia.
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