Description | The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of mustelid native to central North America. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN, because of its very small and restricted populations. The species declined throughout the 20th century, primarily as a result of decreases in prairie dog populations and sylvatic plague. It was declared extinct in 1979 until Lucille Hogg's dog brought a dead black-footed ferret to her door in Meeteetse, Wyoming, in 1981. That remnant population of a few dozen ferrets lasted there until the animals were considered extinct in the wild in 1987. However, a captive-breeding program launched by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in its reintroduction into eight western US states, Canada, and Mexico from 1991 to 2009. Now, over 1,000 mature, wild-born individuals are in the wild across 18 populations, with five self-sustaining populations in South Dakota (two), Arizona, and Wyoming. It was first listed as "endangered" in 1982, then listed as "extinct in the wild" in 1996 before being downgraded back to "endangered" in 2008.
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Source Data | |
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Rank | species |
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Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Carnivora : Mustelidae : Mustela : Mustela nigripes |
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Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Carnivora : Mustelidae : Mustela : Mustela nigripes |
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Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted |
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Classification (PBDB,GBIF) | |
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Generic Name | Mustela |
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Common Name | black-footed ferret |
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Scientific Name | Mustela nigripes (Audubon & Bachman, 1851) |
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Name Published In | Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America vol.2 297 |
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Opinions (PBDB) | Name | Rank | Opinion | Evidence | Author |
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Mustela nigripes | species | belongs to Mustela | stated without evidence | Audubon and Bachman, 1851 |
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Status (PBDB) | extant |
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Taxon Size (PBDB) | 1 |
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Extant Size (PBDB) | 1 (100%) |
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First Recorded Appearance | 1.80 - 0.30 Ma Pleistocene |
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Environment | terrestrial (based on Eutheria) |
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Motility | actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes) |
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Diet | carnivore, omnivore (based on Mustelidae) |
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Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) |
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Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. Alroy. 2002. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil mammals. |
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Common Name(s) | Black-footed Ferret, Schwarzfußiltis |
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Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustela_nigripes |
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Alroy J. (2002) Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil mammals |
Schultz C. B., Howard E. B. (1935) The fauna of Burnet Cave, Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 87, 273-298 |
Kurten B., Anderson E. (1980) , Pleistocene mammals of North America, 1-442 |
Mead E. M., Mead J. I. (1989) Snake Creek Burial Cave and a review of the Quaternary mustelids of the Great Basin, Great Basin Naturalist 49 2, 143-154 |
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 2005: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vols. 1 & 2. 2142. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 1992: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing. xviii + 1207. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner, 1987: Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. 79. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
Wilson, Don E., and F. Russell Cole, 2000: null. Common Names of Mammals of the World. xiv + 204. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
(1996) database, NODC Taxonomic Code - via Catalogue of Life |
(2001) website, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program-03/01 - via Catalogue of Life |
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. (1992) Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing - via Catalogue of Life |
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. (2005) Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vols. 1 & 2 - via Catalogue of Life |
Wilson, Don E., and F. Russell Cole (2000) Common Names of Mammals of the World - via Catalogue of Life |
Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner (1987) Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada: Resource Publication, no. 166 - via Catalogue of Life |