Weasel
 | This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. |
| Weasel | |
|---|---|
| |
| Least Weasel | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Subfamily: | |
| Genus: | Mustela Linnaeus, 1758
|
| Species | |
|
Mustela africana | |
Weasels are mammals in the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family.
Originally, the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis). Early literary references to weasels, for example their common appearances in fables, refer to this species rather than to the genus as a whole, reflecting what is still the common usage in the United Kingdom. In technical discourse, however, as in American usage, the term "weasel" can refer to any member of the genus, or to the genus as a whole. Of the 16 extant species currently classified in the genus Mustela, ten have "weasel" in their common name. Among those that do not are the stoat or ermine, the two species of mink, and the polecats or ferrets.
Weasels vary in length from twelve to forty-five centimeters long (six to seventeen inches), and usually have a dark brown upper coat, white belly and in many species, populations living at high latitudes moult to a white coat in winter. They have long slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails are typically almost as long as the rest of their bodies. As is typical of small carnivores, weasels have a reputation for cleverness and guile. They also have tails that can be anywhere from 22–33 cm long and they use these to defend the food they get and to claim territory from other weasels. The average weasel weighs about 198 grams (7 ounces).
Weasels feed on small mammals, and have from time to time been considered[by whom?] vermin since some species took poultry from farms, or rabbits from commercial warrens. Certain species of weasel and ferrets have been reported[by whom?] to perform the mesmerizing weasel war dance, after fighting other creatures, or acquiring food from competing creatures. In folklore at least, this dance is particularly associated with the stoat. There is much confusion when trying to spot the difference between a stoat and weasel, however these difficulties have been overcome by taxonomic specialists who follow a simple rule 'Weasels are weasely spotted and stoats are stoataly different'.
Collective nouns for a group of weasels include boogle, gang, pack, and confusion.[1]
Weasels occur all across the world except for Antarctica, Australia, and neighbouring islands.
Species
The following information is according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, and IUCN 2006 for the extinct Mustela macrodon.
| Mustela africana | Desmarest, 1800 | Tropical weasel | South America |
| Mustela altaica | Pallas, 1811 | Mountain weasel | Europe & Northern Asia Southern Asia |
| Mustela erminea | Linnaeus, 1758 | Stoat Ermine Short-tailed weasel |
Europe & Northern Asia North America Southern Asia (non-native) New Zealand (non-native) |
| Mustela eversmannii | Lesson, 1827 | Steppe polecat | Europe & Northern Asia Southern Asia |
| Mustela felipei | Izor and de la Torre, 1978 | Colombian weasel | South America |
| Mustela frenata | Lichtenstein, 1831 | Long-tailed weasel | Middle America North America South America |
| Mustela itatsi | Temminck, 1844 | Japanese weasel | Japan & Sakhalin Is. (Russia) |
| Mustela kathiah | Hodgson, 1835 | Yellow-bellied weasel | Southern Asia |
| Mustela lutreola | (Linnaeus, 1761) | European mink | Europe & Northern Asia |
| Mustela lutreolina | Robinson and Thomas, 1917 | Indonesian mountain weasel | Southern Asia |
| Mustela nigripes | (Audubon and Bachman, 1851) | Black-footed ferret | North America |
| Mustela nivalis | Linnaeus, 1766 | Least weasel | Europe & Northern Asia (non-native) North America Southern Asia (non-native) New Zealand (non-native) |
| Mustela nudipes | Desmarest, 1822 | Malayan weasel | Southern Asia |
| Mustela putorius | Linnaeus, 1758 | European Polecat | Europe & Northern Asia New Zealand (ssp. furo) (non-native) |
| Mustela sibirica | Pallas, 1773 | Siberian weasel | Europe & Northern Asia Southern Asia |
| Mustela strigidorsa | Gray, 1855 | Back-striped weasel | Southern Asia |
| Mustela subpalmata | Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1833 | Egyptian weasel | Egypt |
1 Europe & Northern Asia division excludes China.
References
- "Mustela". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 24 July.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - Nowak, Ronald M., and Ernest P. Walker. Walker's Carnivores of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. ISBN 0801880335, ISBN 0801880327.
- C. Hart Merriam, Synopsis of the Weasels of North America, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1896.
Footnotes
- ^ Bertrand, John. A Gulp of Cormorants???. The Bosque Watch. Volume 14, Number 2, April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.