Propoecilogale is an extinct genus of mustelid that lived in Africa during the Pliocene.

Fossils of Propoecilogale were first studied in 1985, South African-Canadian paleontologist Herbert Basil Sutton Cooke published a paper in which he described a fossilized skull discovered in the cave breccia deposits of Bolt's Farm, a site in Gauteng, South Africa. He recognized that this was the skull of a mustelid, and believed it most closely resembled the skulls of modern species belonging to the genus Ictonyx, but also differed significantly enough that it could not be assigned to any living species. Cooke therefore erected a new species which he named Ictonyx bolti, with the specific name referencing the location it was discovered. The skull was designated as the holotype of the species and was deposited in the collection of the Transvaal Museum.^[1]

In 1987, a study by G. Petter was published in which she analysed two fossilized mustelid specimens collected in Laetoli, Tanzania. One of these specimens (cataloged as LAET 248) was a partial skeleton with vertebral, skull and limb elements, while the other (cataloged as LAET 1358) only included jaw elements. Petter compared these remains with specimens of both modern and fossil mustelids and concluded that they represent the same species as the skull from Bolt's Farm named as Ictonyx bolti. Being able to analyse more complete remains than Cooke was, Petter discovered that this species was actually more similar to the extant African striped weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) than any Ictonyx species, and thus does not belong in the Ictonyx genus. Due to differences in the teeth, she decided not to place it in the same genus as the African striped weasel, though she suggested it may be an ancestor of the modern form. Petter established the new genus Propoecilogale for the species, combining the prefix pro (meaning "before") with the generic name of the African striped weasel.^[2]

The spelling of this animal's name has a somewhat confusing history. In 1985, G. Petter coauthored a book chapter with F.C. Howell in which she mentions that she will establish a new mustelid genus named Prepoecilogale, based on the fossil skull named as Ictonyx bolti by Cooke and new specimens from Laetoli.^[3] However, when the full description of this material was published two years later, there was no mention of a genus with this name. Instead, the aforementioned fossils had been described under the different genus name Propoecilogale, suggesting that Petter decided to change the spelling of the name.^[2] Since then, both of these spellings have been used in other publications by various authors, who have also attributed both references as the taxonomic authority of the genus. This was acknowledged by a study published in 2013, which clarifies that according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the valid spelling should be Propoecilogale because it was used in the original description of the taxon. Meanwhile, Prepoecilogale should be considered a nomen nudum because this spelling was established without a description.^[4]