Marbled polecat
Vormela peregusna (Güldenstädt, 1770)
The marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna), also called the European marbled polecat, is a mammal in the family Mustelidae, subfamily Ictonychinae, within the order Carnivora. It is a small, terrestrial carnivore of grassland habitats with a cathemeral activity pattern.
Quick facts about the marbled polecat
The marbled polecat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category.
- Weight
- 450.4 g – 542.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 8.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 56 days – 62 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4 – 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.99 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the marbled polecat
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the marbled polecat live?
Not recorded
What is the marbled polecat?
The marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna) is a small mustelid belonging to the subfamily Ictonychinae. It is the only living member of the genus Vormela. Marbled polecats are generally found in the drier areas and grasslands of southeastern Europe to western China. Like other members of the Ictonychinae, it can emit a strong-smelling secretion from anal sacs under the tail when threatened.
From the Wikipedia article “Marbled polecat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marbled_polecat&oldid=1381901197), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the marbled polecat endangered?
The marbled polecat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the marbled polecat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyMustelidae
- genusVormela
- SpeciesVormela peregusna (Güldenstädt, 1770)
Synonyms Mustela peregusna, Peregusna peregusna, Vormela euxina, Vormela koshewnikovi, Vormela sarmatica
Other names and names in other languages (60)
- European marbled polecatEnglish
- European marbled polecatEnglish
- European marbled polecatEnglish
- ابن عرسArabic
- ظربان رخاميArabic
- ظربان مرقطArabic
- فأر الخيل المجزعArabic
- ابن عرس المنتن المجزعArabic
- SafsarAzerbaijani
- Пъстър порBulgarian
- Pudask marelletBreton
- Turó marbratCatalan
- tchořík skvrnitýCzech
- TigeriltisGerman
- ΣτικτοϊκτίδαGreek
- Turón BúlgaroSpanish
- Turón jaspeadoSpanish
- Bulgariar ipurtatsBasque
- زردهبرPersian
- kirjohilleriFinnish
- tiikerihilleriFinnish
- Putois marbréFrench
- סמור משוישHebrew
- tigrisgörényHungarian
- ԽայտաքիսArmenian
- Puzzola marmorizzataItalian
- マダライタチJapanese
- ჭრელტყავაGeorgian
- ЕлэнKabardian
- Шұбар күзенKazakh
- 얼룩족제비Korean
- FistîkKurdish
- Lāsumainais sesksLatvian
- മഞ്ഞുപൂച്ചMalayalam
- Эрээн хүрнэMongolian
- Ereen KhurenMongolian
- TigerilderNorwegian Bokmål
- MarmorilderNorwegian Bokmål
- ङ्याउरी मुसाNepali
- Gevlekte BunzingDutch
- PerewiaskaPolish
- Perewiaska marmurkowaPolish
- Tchórz marmurkowyPolish
- شینہ نیولاWestern Panjabi
- Toirão-jaspeadoPortuguese
- Dihor pătatRomanian
- ПеревязкаRussian
- перегузнаRussian
- Tchor škvrnitýSlovak
- pegasti dihurSlovenian
- Šareni tvorSerbian
- tigerillerSwedish
- alaca sansarTurkish
- Alaca KokarcaTurkish
- Benekli KokarcaTurkish
- تاغىل سېسىق كۈزەنUyghur
- ПерегузняUkrainian
- Перегузня звичайнаUkrainian
- OlakoʻzanUzbek
- 虎鼬Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the marbled polecat
Other species in the same family Mustelidae.
European badger
Meles meles
Least weasel
Mustela nivalis
Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra
Stoat
Mustela erminea
Wolverine
Gulo gulo
European pine marten
Martes martes
CompareMarbled polecat vs European badgerMarbled polecat vs Least weaselMarbled polecat vs Eurasian otterMarbled polecat vs Stoat
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the marbled polecat?
The marbled polecat is a mammal in the family Mustelidae and the order Carnivora. It belongs to the subfamily Ictonychinae.
How heavy is the marbled polecat?
Adults weigh 450 g, and the highest value reported by our sources is 542.5 g. This places it in the small size class.
What does the marbled polecat eat?
The marbled polecat is a carnivore by diet category and trophic level.
How long does the marbled polecat live?
The marbled polecat has a lifespan of 8.9 years.
How many young does the marbled polecat have?
Litters hold 5.76 young, with values from 4 to 8, and it has 1.1 litters per year. Gestation lasts 61 days.
Where does the marbled polecat live?
The marbled polecat lives in grassland and is terrestrial, with a cathemeral activity pattern.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/marbled-polecat
“Marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/marbled-polecat.
@misc{marbled_polecat_2026,
title = {Marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/marbled-polecat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}