32-495: Ailuridae is a family in the mammal order Carnivora . The family consists of the red panda (the sole living representative) and its extinct relatives. Georges Cuvier first described Ailurus as belonging to the raccoon family in 1825; this classification has been controversial ever since. It was classified in the raccoon family because of morphological similarities of the head, colored ringed tail, and other morphological and ecological characteristics. Somewhat later, it
64-457: A consensus over time. The naming of families is codified by various international bodies using the following suffixes: The taxonomic term familia was first used by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called the seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables families ( familiae ). The concept of rank at that time
96-416: A diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels , badgers , otters , polecats , martens , grisons , and wolverines . Otherwise known as mustelids ( / ˈ m ʌ s t ɪ l ɪ d z / ), they form the largest family in the suborder Caniformia of the order Carnivora with about 66 to 70 species in nine subfamilies. Mustelids vary greatly in size and behaviour. The smaller variants of
128-446: A family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community for extended periods. The continual publication of new data and diverse opinions plays a crucial role in facilitating adjustments and ultimately reaching
160-561: A result, the normal gestation period is extended, sometimes up to a year. This allows the young to be born under favourable environmental conditions. Reproduction has a large energy cost, so it is to a female's benefit to have available food and mild weather. The young are more likely to survive if birth occurs after previous offspring have been weaned . Mustelids are predominantly carnivorous, although some eat vegetable matter at times. While not all mustelids share an identical dentition , they all possess teeth adapted for eating flesh, including
192-574: Is Corumictis wolsani from the early and late Oligocene (early and late Arikareean , Ar1–Ar3) of Oregon . Middle Oligocene Mustelictis from Europe might be a mustelid, as well. Other early fossils of the mustelids were dated at the end of the Oligocene to the beginning of the Miocene. Which of these forms are Mustelidae ancestors and which should be considered the first mustelids is unclear. The fossil record indicates that mustelids appeared in
224-524: The Genera Plantarum of George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker this word ordo was used for what now is given the rank of family. Families serve as valuable units for evolutionary, paleontological, and genetic studies due to their relatively greater stability compared to lower taxonomic levels like genera and species. Mustelidae The Mustelidae ( / m ʌ ˈ s t ɛ l ɪ d iː / ; from Latin mustela , weasel) are
256-492: The cats ) and not the Caniformia (those sharing more recent origins with the dogs ). Because mongooses and mustelids occupy similar ecological niches , convergent evolution has led to similarity in form and behavior. Several mustelids, including the mink, the sable (a type of marten), and the stoat (ermine), possess furs that are considered beautiful and valuable, so have been hunted since prehistoric times. From
288-519: The ferret . Tayra are also kept as pets (although they require a Dangerous Wild Animals licence in the UK), or as working animals for hunting or vermin control. Others have been important in the fur trade —the mink is often raised for its fur . Being one of the most species-rich families in the order Carnivora, the family Mustelidae also is one of the oldest. Mustelid-like forms first appeared about 40 million years ago (Mya), roughly coinciding with
320-432: The fully aquatic sea otter, which is one of the few nonprimate mammals known to use tools while foraging. It uses "anvil" stones to crack open the shellfish that form a significant part of its diet. It is a " keystone species ", keeping its prey populations in balance so some do not outcompete the others and destroy the kelp in which they live. The black-footed ferret is entirely dependent on another keystone species,
352-596: The least weasel can be under 20 cm (8 in) in length, while the giant otter of Amazonian South America can measure up to 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) and sea otters can exceed 45 kg (99 lb) in weight. Wolverines can crush bones as thick as the femur of a moose to get at the marrow , and have been seen attempting to drive bears away from their kills. The sea otter uses rocks to break open shellfish to eat. Martens are largely arboreal , while European badgers dig extensive tunnel networks, called setts . Only one mustelid has been domesticated;
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#1732772262238384-552: The prairie dog . A family of four ferrets eats 250 prairie dogs in a year; this requires a stable population of prairie dogs from an area of some 500 acres (2.0 km ). Skunks were previously included as a subfamily of the mustelids, but DNA research placed them in their own separate family (Mephitidae). Mongooses bear a striking resemblance to many mustelids, but belong to a distinctly different suborder —the Feliformia (all those carnivores sharing more recent origins with
416-439: The sequence difference between the red panda and the raccoon, the observed mutation rate for the red panda was calculated to be on the order of 10, which is apparently an underestimate compared with the average rate in mammals. This underestimation is probably due to multiple recurrent mutations as the divergence between the red panda and the raccoon is extremely deep. The most recent molecular-systematic DNA research places
448-758: The North Pacific was the major economic driving force behind Russian expansion into Kamchatka , the Aleutian Islands , and Alaska , as well as a cause for conflict with Japan and foreign hunters in the Kuril Islands . Together with widespread hunting in California and British Columbia, the species was brought to the brink of extinction until an international moratorium came into effect in 1911. Today, some mustelids are threatened for other reasons. Sea otters are vulnerable to oil spills and
480-402: The appearance of rodents . The common ancestor of modern mustelids appeared about 18 Mya. Within a large range of variation, the mustelids exhibit some common characteristics. They are typically small animals with elongated bodies, short legs, short skulls, short, round ears, and thick fur. Most mustelids are solitary, nocturnal animals, and are active year-round. With the exception of
512-514: The book's morphological section, where he delved into discussions regarding the vegetative and generative aspects of plants. Subsequently, in French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille was used as a French equivalent of the Latin ordo (or ordo naturalis ). In zoology ,
544-468: The early Middle Ages, the trade in furs was of great economic importance for northern and eastern European nations with large native populations of fur-bearing mustelids, and was a major economic impetus behind Russian expansion into Siberia and French and English expansion in North America. In recent centuries fur farming , notably of mink, has also become widespread and provides the majority of
576-526: The extinct genera Pristinailurus and Parailurus , developed a specialised dental morphology with blunted cusps , creating an effective grinding surface to process plant material. The relationship of the Ailuridae with other carnivorans is shown in the following phylogenetic tree , which is based on the molecular phylogenetic analysis of six genes in Flynn (2005), with the musteloids updated following
608-481: The family Mustelidae include: Multigene phylogenies constructed by Koepfli et al. (2008) and Law et al. (2018) found that Mustelidae comprises eight living subfamilies. The early mustelids appear to have undergone two rapid bursts of diversification in Eurasia, with the resulting species spreading to other continents only later. Mustelid species diversity is often attributed to an adaptive radiation coinciding with
640-540: The family as a rank intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel (1796). He used families (some of them were not named) in some but not in all his orders of "insects" (which then included all arthropods ). In nineteenth-century works such as the Prodromus of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and
672-439: The fur brought to market. One species, the sea mink ( Neogale macrodon ) of New England and Canada, was driven to extinction by fur trappers. Its appearance and habits are almost unknown today because no complete specimens can be found and no systematic contemporary studies were conducted. The sea otter , which has the densest fur of any animal, narrowly escaped the fate of the sea mink. The discovery of large populations in
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#1732772262238704-519: The indirect effects of overfishing; the black-footed ferret , a relative of the European polecat , suffers from the loss of American prairie ; and wolverine populations are slowly declining because of habitat destruction and persecution. The rare European mink ( Mustela lutreola ) is one of the most endangered mustelid species. The ferret , a domesticated European polecat, is a fairly common pet . The oldest known mustelid from North America
736-724: The late Oligocene period (33 Mya) in Eurasia and migrated to every continent except Antarctica and Australia (all the continents that were connected during or since the early Miocene). They reached the Americas via the Bering land bridge . The 68 recent mustelids (66 extant species) are classified into eight subfamilies in 22 genera: Subfamily Mellivorinae Subfamily Melinae Subfamily Helictidinae Subfamily Guloninae Subfamily Ictonychinae Subfamily Lutrinae ( otters ) Subfamily Mustelinae (weasels, ferrets, and mink) Fossil mustelids Extinct genera of
768-528: The multigene analysis of Law et al. (2018). Feliformia [REDACTED] Canidae [REDACTED] Ursidae [REDACTED] Pinnipedia [REDACTED] Mephitidae [REDACTED] Ailuridae [REDACTED] Procyonidae [REDACTED] Mustelidae [REDACTED] In addition to Ailurus , the family Ailuridae includes seven extinct genera, most of which are assigned to three subfamilies: Amphictinae, Simocyoninae, and Ailurinae. An additional, unnamed taxon called only "Ailurinae indet."
800-439: The presence of shearing carnassials . One characteristic trait is a meat-shearing upper-back molar that is rotated 90°, towards the inside of the mouth. With variation between species, the most common dental formula is 3.1.3.1 3.1.3.2 . The fisher , tayra, and martens are partially arboreal, while badgers are fossorial . A number of mustelids have aquatic lifestyles, ranging from semiaquatic minks and river otters to
832-491: The ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae , but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family— or whether a described family should be acknowledged— is established and decided upon by active taxonomists . There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging
864-698: The red panda into its own independent family, Ailuridae. Ailuridae are, in turn, part of a trichotomy within the broad superfamily Musteloidea that also includes the Procyonidae ( raccoons ) and a group that further subdivides into the Mephitidae ( skunks ) and Mustelidae ( weasels ); but it is not a bear (Ursidae). Ailurids appear to have originated during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene in Europe. The earliest known member, Amphictis ,
896-400: The sea otter they have anal scent glands that produce a strong-smelling secretion the animals use for sexual signalling and marking territory . Most mustelid reproduction involves embryonic diapause . The embryo does not immediately implant in the uterus , but remains dormant for some time. No development takes place as long as the embryo remains unattached to the uterine lining. As
928-611: Was assigned to the bear family. Molecular phylogenetic studies had shown that, as an ancient species in the order Carnivora , the red panda is relatively close to the American raccoon and may be either a monotypic family or a subfamily within the procyonid family. An in-depth mitochondrial DNA population analysis study stated: "According to the fossil record, the Red Panda diverged from its common ancestor with bears about 40 million years ago." With this divergence, by comparing
960-463: Was described in 2001 based on an upper molar from Four, a Middle Miocene -age locality near Isère, France . Family (biology) Family ( Latin : familia , pl. : familiae ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy . It is classified between order and genus . A family may be divided into subfamilies , which are intermediate ranks between
992-472: Was likely an unspecialised carnivore, based on its dentition. Ailurids subsequently dispersed into Asia and North America. The puma-sized Simocyon found in Middle Miocene -Early Pliocene of Europe, North America and China was likely a hypercarnivore . Like modern red panda it had a "false thumb" to aid in climbing. Members of the subfamily Ailurinae, which includes the modern red panda as well as
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1024-488: Was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera , which is far from how the term is used today. In his work Philosophia Botanica published in 1751, Carl Linnaeus employed the term familia to categorize significant plant groups such as trees , herbs , ferns , palms , and so on. Notably, he restricted the use of this term solely within
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