Pekania
Sign in to savePekania is a genus of mustelid that contains a single living species, the fisher (Pekania pennanti). Formerly placed in the genus Martes, it was determined to be distinct enough to be placed within its own genus. A 2013 study also identified several fossil species formerly in Martes that are more closely related – and probably ancestral – to the fisher, moving them into Pekania as well.
Species
Fisher
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderCarnivora
- FamilyMustelidae
Observations6,661
via GBIF
Article
3 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Evolution
- References
Pekania is a genus of mustelid that contains a single living species, the fisher (Pekania pennanti). Formerly placed in the genus Martes, it was determined to be distinct enough to be placed within its own genus. A 2013 study also identified several fossil species formerly in Martes that are more closely related – and probably ancestral – to the fisher, moving them into Pekania as well.
==Taxonomy== The fisher was for many years placed in the genus Martes. A 2008 study using DNA sequences found the remaining species of Martes to be more closely related to the wolverine (genus Gulo) than to the fisher, rendering Martes paraphyletic. Therefore, the fisher was reclassified in the separate genus Pekania. Current studies suggest that the fisher is more closely related to the wolverine and tayra than it is to martens, confirming its placement in the separate genus.