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Weasel. Weasels / ˈwiːzəlz / are mammals of the genus Mustela of the family Mustelidae. 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 ...
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 least 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 weasel's ancestors were larger than the current form, and underwent a reduction in size to exploit the new food source.
The Mustelidae ( / mʌˈstɛlɪdiː /; [2] from Latin mustela, weasel) are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids ( / ˈmʌstɪlɪdz / [3] ), they form the largest family in the suborder Caniformia of the order Carnivora with about 66 ...
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.
Marten. A marten is a weasel -like mammal in the genus Martes within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on the species; it is valued by animal trappers for the fur trade.
Diet. 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, [6] chipmunks, deer mice, jumping mice, and house mice. Usually the ermine kills by biting at base of skull.
List of mustelids. 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. A member of this family is called a ...