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Skull of a least weasel Least weasel at the British Wildlife Centre 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 least weasel has a thin, greatly elongated and extremely flexible body with a small, yet elongated, blunt ...
Their range spans Europe, North America, much of Asia and South America, and small areas in North Africa. Terminology The English word "weasel" was originally applied to one species of the genus , the European form of the least weasel ( Mustela nivalis ).
Europe, north Asia, northern North America, and Greenland (native range in green, introduced in red (New Zealand)); map includes range of American and haida ermines: Size: 17–33 cm (7–13 in) long, plus 4–12 cm (2–5 in) tail [109] Habitat: Shrubland, inland wetlands, grassland, rocky areas, and forest [110]
In North America, where the ecological niche for rat- and rabbit-sized prey is taken by the larger long-tailed weasel (Neogale frenata), the American ermine preys on mice, voles, shrews, young cottontails, [7] chipmunks, deer mice, jumping mice, and house mice. Usually the ermine kills by biting at base of skull.
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.
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 highest annual take in North America was 272,000 animals in 1820. [ 28 ] Trapping is a major source of American marten mortality in some populations [ 31 ] [ 48 ] and may account for up to 90% of all deaths in some areas. [ 12 ]
The stoat (Mustela erminea), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America.Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. [1]