Ictonyx libycus (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Mustelidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 564-656 : 637

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5714044

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5714097

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038F87D4-CA42-FFAD-CFED-3AA8F5A9F3E7

treatment provided by

Conny

scientific name

Ictonyx libycus
status

 

24. View On

Saharan Striped Polecat

Ictonyx libycus View in CoL

French: Zorille de Libye / German: Streifenwiesel / Spanish: Huron del Sahara

Other common names: Saharan Striped Weasel

Taxonomy. Mustela libyca Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833 View in CoL ,

Libya.

Four subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

I. l. libycus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833 — Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Tunisia.

I. l. multivittata Wagner, 1841 — E Chad and C Sudan.

I. l. oralis Thomas & Hinton, 1920 — Egypt, Eritrea, and N Sudan.

I. l. rothschildi Thomas & Hinton, 1920 — Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 20.7-26 cm, tail 114- 18 cm; weight 200-600 g, adult males are slightly larger than females. The Saharan Striped Polecat has a black and white pelage, with poorly defined black and white stripes along the sides of the body. The head is black with a white patch on the upperlip; there is a large white mark on the forehead. The limbs are short. The tail is short and bushy, and mostly white except for the black tip. There are four pairs of mammae. The skull is small, with a short rostrum. Dental formula: 13/3,C1/1,P3/3,M 1/2 = 34.

Habitat. Sub-desert habitats, especially stony areas, steppes, and areas of sparse brush. Also found in cultivated areas and coastal sand dunes.

Food and Feeding. The diet apparently consists of rodents, small birds, eggs,lizards, and insects. Food is located by smell and by sound, and the front claws are used to dig up food items.

Activity pattern. Nocturnal. Rest sites are in burrows or rock crevices.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mostly solitary.

Breeding. Gestation is 37 to 77 days. Litter size is one to three. The young are born from January to March. They are born blind and covered with short hair. In captivity, neonates were 5 g at birth; they took some solid food after five weeks, and weighed 250 g at two months.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. A poorly known species and field studies are needed to learn more about its natural history, ecology, and conservation status.

Bibliography. Hufnagl (1972), Niethammer (1987), Rosevear (1974), Setzer (1957), Sitek (1995), Wozencraft (2005).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Mustelidae

Genus

Ictonyx

Loc

Ictonyx libycus

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier 2009
2009
Loc

Mustela libyca

Hemprich & Ehrenberg 1833
1833
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