Poecilictis

Poecilictis is a genus of mustelid containing a single species, the Saharan striped polecat (Poecilictis libyca), also known as the Saharan striped weasel or Libyan striped weasel, native to northern Africa; it was placed in its own genus after genetic studies showed it was distinct enough from the striped polecat genus Ictonyx to warrant separation. It occurs around the northern and southern edges of the Sahara Desert, from Mauritania, Western Sahara, and Morocco eastward across North Africa to Egypts Nile Valley and south through the Sahel to Sudan and Djibouti, and has also been recorded on Farwa Island in the Mediterranean. The animal measures about 23 to 29 centimeters in body length with a bushy tail adding 12 to 19 centimeters, and shows a black face, underside, and legs with white facial patterns, a light colored back and flanks, and dark stripes down the back; unlike related species it has fur on the undersides of its paws, likely an adaptation to sandy ground. It lives in dry, steppe-like habitat within arid zones receiving less than 15 centimeters of rain a year, avoiding the driest central Sahara.