The striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus), also called the African polecat, zoril, zorille, zorilla, African muishond, striped muishond, Cape polecat, and African skunk, is a species of mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. Despite bearing some resemblance to a skunk (of the family Mephitidae), it belongs in a separate family known as the Mustelidae, and genetic analysis suggests that its closest living relative is the African striped weasel. It is adaptable and lives in a wide range of habitats and elevations, preferring open environments with lower levels of shrubs. This species measures in length excluding the tail, with males growing larger than females. Its fur is mostly black, with distinctive white stripes running down its back and white patches on its face and tail, though the exact patterning is highly variable.
The forelimbs of this animal bear long, curved claws which it uses to excavate burrows or dig for invertebrate prey in soil or dung. The striped polecat is a predatory and mostly carnivorous animal that primarily feeds on insects, rodents and small reptiles, but also eats birds, eggs, amphibians and other invertebrates. A nocturnal creature, it actively forages throughout the night and retreats to a resting area during the day, which is typically a burrow or other crevice. Near its anus, the striped polecat has glands which can spray a nauseating, irritating fluid at potential predators to defend itself. Its striking colouration is an example of aposematism, warning predators of its spray to deter them from attacking, and it takes a defensive stance with its back arched and tail raised before it sprays. Due to this, the striped polecat is rarely targeted by predators, and vehicular collision is a more common cause of death.
The striped polecat is a mostly solitary animal, and adult males are hostile towards one another, though family groups do occur and multiple can be kept together in captivity. Females tolerate males during the breeding season, and after a gestation period of 36 days, the mother gives birth to and raises her litter of two or three young. Newborns have closed eyes and ears, and are almost hairless, with most of their pink skin visible. A variety of different calls are used by striped polecats to communicate with each other, as are behavioural cues and likely olfactic communication involving its odorous fluids. The striped polecat is common across most of its range, despite localized population declines, and is not believed to face any major threats to its overall survival as a species.
Etymology
The generic name Ictonyx combines two Ancient Greek words, (, meaning "marten" or "weasel") and (, meaning "claw"). The specific name is a Latin word meaning "streaked", in reference to the patterns on the animal's back. Therefore, the scientific name of this animal can be interpreted as "streaked weasel claw" or "streaked marten claw".
This species has many vernacular names, one of the most common being "striped polecat". The origin of the English word polecat is unknown, but it was thought to come from a combination of the English word cat with the Middle French word or (meaning "cock"). This word was originally used for the European polecat, referencing its predation on poultry. Another commonly used name is zorilla, sometimes spelled as zorille, which comes from the Spanish word (meaning "skunk"), itself a diminutive form of the Spanish (meaning "fox"). The names "African skunk", "African muishond" and "striped muishond" have been used, though the former is inaccurate since this animal belongs in a separate family from true skunks. is an Afrikaans word derived from the Middle Dutch term , meaning "mouse hound", and is used for various mongoose species.
Taxonomy
The oldest scientific description of a striped polecat was published in 1810 by English naturalist George Perry, who described the animal based on an engraving made by English artist Thomas Lord Busby. The individual depicted was seen a few months earlier in London, where it was displayed alive in a travelling menagerie and claimed to be from South America. Soon after the engraving was made, the menagerie had left London, so Perry was unable to examine the living animal in detail. Based on the engraving, Perry could determine that the species was unknown to science, but was uncertain what type of animal it was. He believed it had some similarities to wombats, koalas, bears and weasels, but ultimately described it as a species of sloth in the genus Bradypus, giving it the scientific name Bradypus striatus and the common name "weasel sloth".
More specimens of striped polecats would be analyzed throughout the 19th century, with various authors establishing new species names based on them. They have since been found to represent the same species and the taxa erected based on them are thus considered synonymous. British zoologist Andrew Smith wrote a catalog in 1826 of the mammal specimens in the South African Museum. He believed one specimen represented an unknown species of skunk in the genus Mephitis, and gave it the scientific name Mephitis capensis. Later in 1829, German zoologist Johann Baptist Fischer described a species under the name Mustela zorilla based on specimens from Senegal and the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, recognizing that it belongs in the family Mustelidae. This species was moved to the genus Putorius by Smith in 1834, renaming it as Putorius zorilla. The genus Ictonyx was established by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1835 to contain a single species, which was given the name Ictonyx capensis, marking the first time the striped polecat was assigned to a newly established genus rather than one which already existed. Kaup described the species based on specimens from the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, which is referenced in the specific name. The name Mephitis africana was erected for the striped polecat by German explorer Hinrich Lichtenstein in 1836, who believed like Smith that it is a species of skunk. However, along with Mustela zorilla, this name was synonymized in 1841 with Rhabdogale mustelina, a taxon established by Johann Andreas Wagner that year.
During the early 1900s, the striped polecat was commonly referred to under the scientific name Zorilla striata, with experts such as Édouard Louis Trouessart and William Lutley Sclater using it in their publications. This name was first used in 1861 by Edgar Leopold Layard. However, it was pointed out by American zoologist Arthur H. Howell in 1906 that this name is invalid; the specific name striata originates from an 1800 publication by George Shaw but is based on Viverra putorius and thus refers to the eastern spotted skunk, while the generic name Zorilla is preoccupied as it was already used by Lorenz Oken in 1816. Howell determined that the proper specific name of the animal should be capensis, as he thought it was the oldest given to it (by Smith in 1826). He concluded that its proper generic name should be Ictonyx since the animal does not belong in any of the other genera it was formerly placed in and requires its own genus, thus assigning it the binomial name Ictonyx capensis. In 1915, American biologist Ned Hollister realized that the "weasel sloth" described by Perry in 1810 is actually a striped polecat and thus likely originated from Africa rather than South America as formerly claimed. With this knowledge, striatus became the oldest valid specific name assigned to the striped polecat, giving it priority over capensis, and the animal's proper binomial name is therefore Ictonyx striatus.
Subspecies
A number of striped polecat subspecies have been proposed, though there is debate between different authors as to how many of these are valid. Some authors have categorized them under three groupings based on geography, namely I. s. striatus in southern Africa, I. s. erythrae in northeast and eastern Africa, and I. s. senegalensis in west Africa. However, others believe that the supposed subspecies cannot be consistently distinguished from each other or that their geographic ranges cannot be determined, such that the species is actually monotypic and all proposed subspecies should be considered invalid. The following 19 subspecies were recognized in the third edition of Mammal Species of the World published in 2005: