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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.
Their tails may be from 34 to 52 mm (1 + 1 ⁄ 4 to 2 in) long. [3] Weasels feed on small mammals and have from time to time been considered vermin because some species took poultry from farms or rabbits from commercial warrens. They do, on the other hand, eat large numbers of rodents.
The American marten is a long, slender-bodied weasel about the size of a mink with relatively large, rounded ears, short limbs, and a bushy tail. American marten have a roughly triangular head and sharp nose. Their long, silky fur ranges in color from pale yellowish buff to tawny brown to almost black.
Diet: Unknown, but believed to eat fish, small mammals, and insects [120] [119] ... (New Mexico long-tailed weasel) N. f. nevadensis (Nevada long-tailed weasel)
Long-tailed weasel (Neogale frenata) — Like the ermine, fairly common in woods and thickets and near stone walls; especially near rivers and streams [3] Mink ( Neogale vison ) — rather common in streams, ponds, lakes and marshes
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.
The stoat thrived during the Ice Age, as its small size and long body allowed it to easily operate beneath snow, as well as hunt in burrows. The stoat and the long-tailed weasel remained separated until 500,000 years ago, when falling sea levels exposed the Bering land bridge. [20] Fossilised stoat remains have been recovered from Denisova Cave ...
Short-tailed weasel. Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Wolverine, Gulo gulo, alpine, coniferous forests, rare; North American river otter, Lontra canadensis, rivers ...