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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.
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.
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.
"Mink, unlike short-tailed (ermine) and long-tailed weasels, do not have white pelage in winter but are typically a rich brown color and can have white patches on the chin, throat and sometime ...
The American ermine has a body plan typical of weasels. It has short legs, a long body and neck, and a small triangular head with short round ears. It has a brown dorsum with a white venter (except during winter when the coat is fully white) and a short, black-tipped tail. [2]
Neogale contains four species: the Amazon weasel (Neogale africana), the long and short-tailed weasels (N. frenata and N. lontra), and the American mink (N. vison). Native to the Americas, members of the genus can be found as far north as Alaska and as far south as Argentina and Bolivia.
A 2021 study into New World weasels determined that the genus Neovison would be merged with Amazon weasel, Colombian weasels and long-tailed weasels to form the new genus Neogale. [ 8 ] Fur-farmed mink are believed to have been descended from the Eastern mink ( Neogale vison vison ), the Kenai mink ( Neogale vison melampeplus ), and the Alaskan ...
They have long, slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. 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.