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ŠUMARSKI LIST 7-8/2018 str. 46     <-- 46 -->        PDF

European polecat was previously reported from the region of Marmara, Trakya and Western Black Sea in Turkey (Demirsoy, 1996). The present study re-describes European Polecat species found at one locality on the Bayburt in Turkey that are new record for the Northeastern Anatoliafauna.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
MATERIJALI I METODE RADA
A European Polecat individual was found dead on the road Bayburt to Erzurum near the Kop River (40°12’33.84’’ N 40°16’25.22’’ E; 1590 m.) located on the Northeastern Anatolia (Fig. 1). Dead individual was photographed on July7th, 2017 during a survey of the project Biodiversity of Bayburt and diagnosed (Fig. 2). For determination of the species, publications of Demirsoy, 1996 and MacDonald and Barrett, 2005 were used. According to Macdonald and Barett 2005, M. putorius has white at sides of nose, but dark on top of muzzle. The belly fur is yellowish with a glossy lustre. Flanks are lighter brown and the fringes of the ears pale. These morphological features overlap with the dead individual found.
RESULTS
REZULTATI
A species of Polecat, Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758 (Carnivora, Mustelidae) was recorded for the first time from Northeastern Turkey.
This species of previous years, in western Turkey (Marmara, Thrace and Western Black Sea) is situated record (Demirsoy, 1996). Bayburt is the most southern distribution area in Turkey of M. putorius. But despite being in the south, it is a cold region with an elevation of 1500 meters. In this case, the species may not be expected to spread in the southern regions of Turkey, but as a climate Bayburt’a similar Ardahan, Kars, Erzurum is thought to be possible to be encountered in provinces such as. In addition, this finding suggests that M. putorius could spread in some parts of Georgia and Armenia with similar habitat and climate with Bayburt.
European polecat Mustela putorius has a weasel-like slender body, short legs and a broad head (www.animaldiversity.org). Males are much larger and heavier than females, but other than this size difference they share the same general appearance, with a buff to black colored coat (Environment agency, 1998) and a black face with a white mask around it (MacDonald and Tattersall, 2001). During winter the coat is thick, lustrous and glossy, but in summer it is thinner and appears somewhat faded (www.animaldiversity.org). European polecats are nocturnal, although activity levels peak at dusk. During the winter, they become less active and emerge during the day more than they would in summer. This opportunistic carnivore takes a great range of prey including rodents, amphibians, rabbits, eggs, birds, and insects (MacDonald, 2001). Individual polecats can take rabbits much larger than themselves (www.animaldiversity.org).