New data about Mustela putorius in the Campiña region of Seville (SW Spain)

Abstract

The European polecat Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758, is a species widely distributed in the occidental Palearctic, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Urals (Wolsan 1993), in addition there are populations of disputed taxonomic identity in the Rif region of Morocco (Griffiths & Cuzin 2013) and in adjacent Algeria (Ahmim 2013), traditionally thought to be an introduction, but recent fossils discoveries suggest us a possible native origin (Skumatov et al. 2016). In Spain it is present over all the territory but the distribution is patched, being apparently more common in Galicia, Asturias and Castilla y León. In Andalusia, M. putorius is also scattered and patched around all the region (Virgós 2007). In Seville the situation is similar with mostly old records around the Aljarafe region and some in the Bajo Guadalquivir, Guadalcanal or Estepa. In this note we present records included in the web Observation.org, all from a new detected area for this species in the province of Seville, the Campiña region. These new records come from the municipalities of Osuna, Écija, Lantejuela, Arahal, Puebla de Cazalla, Los Molares and Marchena