| Pekania | |
|---|---|
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| Fisher(Pekania pennanti) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Guloninae |
| Genus: | Pekania Gray, 1865 |
| Type species | |
| Martes pennanti Erxleben, 1777 | |
| Species | |
Pekania is a genus ofmustelid that contains a single living species, thefisher(Pekania pennanti). Formerly placed in the genusMartes, it was determined to be distinct enough to be placed within its own genus. A 2013 study also identified several fossil species formerly inMartes that are more closely related – and probably ancestral – to the fisher, moving them intoPekania as well.[1]
The fisher was for many years placed in the genusMartes. A 2008 study using DNA sequences found the remaining species ofMartes to be more closely related to thewolverine (genusGulo) than to the fisher, renderingMartesparaphyletic. Therefore, the fisher was reclassified in the separate genusPekania.[2] Current studies suggest that the fisher is more closely related to thewolverine andtayra than it is to martens, confirming its placement in the separate genus.[1]
The earliest known fossil member ofPekania isP. occulta from theRattlesnake Formation ofOregon, which is about 7 million years old but already very similar to the fisher.[1] Although endemic to North America today,Pekania may also have occurred in Asia in the past, with the first species known from between 2.5 and 5.0 million years ago. Two extinct members of the genus known fromEast Asia arePekania palaeosinensis andP. anderssoni, thoughP. anderssoni is often considered to be a synonym ofP. palaeosinensis. Another North American member of the genus,P. diluviana, has only been found inMiddle Pleistocene North America.P. diluviana is strongly indicated to be related to the Asian finds, which suggests a migration. The modern fisher has been found as early as theLate Pleistocene era, about 125,000 years ago. No major differences are seen between the Pleistocene fisher and the modern fisher. Fossil evidence indicates that the fisher's range extended farther south than it does today.[3]
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