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Skull. The root word for "stoat" is likely either the Dutch word stout ("bold") [4] or the Gothic word πππ°πΏππ°π½ (stautan, "to push"). [5] According to John Guillim, in his Display of Heraldrie, the word "ermine" is likely derived from Armenia, the nation where it was thought the species originated, [4] though other authors have linked it to the Norman French from the ...
Skulls of a long-tailed weasel (top), a stoat (bottom left) and least weasel (bottom right), as illustrated in Merriam's Synopsis of the Weasels of North America. The long-tailed weasel is the product of a process begun 5–7 million years ago, when northern forests were replaced by open grassland, thus prompting an explosive evolution of small, burrowing rodents.
Discover the world's largest rodents, from capybaras to other giant species, with this comprehensive list.
Sthenictis sp. (American Museum of Natural History). Mustelids vary greatly in size and behaviour. The smaller variants of the least weasel can be under 20 cm (8 in) in length, while the giant otter of Amazonian South America can measure up to 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) and sea otters can exceed 45 kg (99 lb) in weight.
The genus Mustela includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodies and short legs. The family Mustelidae, or mustelids (which also includes badgers, otters, and wolverines), is often referred to as the "weasel family".
The skull is, overall, similar to that of the stoat, but smaller, though the skulls of large male weasels tend to overlap in size with those of small female stoats. [23] There are usually four pairs of nipples but these are only visible in females. The baculum is short, [24] 16 to 20 mm (0.63 to 0.79 in), with a thick, straight shaft.
Six extant mustelid genera left-to-right, top-to-bottom: Martes, Meles, Lutra, Gulo, Mustela, and Mellivora Mustelidae is a family of mammals in the order Carnivora, which includes weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks, and wolverines, and many other extant and extinct genera.
The short-tailed weasel is the common name in North America for two species once considered a single species: . Stoat or Beringian ermine (Mustela erminea), native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America