Weasel

Weasel
	Least weaselin England
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Subfamily:	Mustelinae
Genus:	Mustela; Linnaeus,1758
Type species
	Mustela erminea; Linnaeus,1758
Species
	Mustela aistoodonnivalis; Mustela altaica; Mustela erminea; Mustela eversmannii; Mustela furo; Mustela haidarum; Mustela itatsi; Mustela kathiah; Mustela lutreola; Mustela lutreolina; Mustela nigripes; Mustela nivalis; Mustela nudipes; Mustela putorius; Mustela richardsonii; Mustela sibirica; Mustela strigidorsa; Mustela tonkinensis;
	Mustelarange

Weasels/ˈwiːzəlz/aremammalsof thegenusMustelaof thefamily Mustelidae.The genusMustelaincludes theleast weasels,polecats,stoats,ferrets,andEuropean mink.Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodies and short legs. The family Mustelidae, or mustelids (which also includesbadgers,otters,andwolverines), is often referred to as the "weasel family". In the UK, the term "weasel" usually refers to the smallestspecies,theleast weasel(M. nivalis),^[1]the smallestcarnivoranspecies.^[2]

Least weasels vary in length from173 to 217 mm (6+3⁄4to8+1⁄2in),^[3]females being smaller than the males, and usually have red or brown upper coats and white bellies; some populations of some speciesmoultto a wholly white coat in winter. They have long, slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails may be from34 to 52 mm (1+1⁄4to 2 in) long.^[3]

Weasels feed on small mammals and have from time to time been consideredverminbecause some species tookpoultryfrom farms orrabbitsfrom commercial warrens. They do, on the other hand, eat large numbers ofrodents.Their range spansEurope,North America,much ofAsiaandSouth America,and small areas inNorth Africa.

Terminology

The English word "weasel" was originally applied to onespeciesof thegenus,the European form of theleast weasel(Mustela nivalis). This usage is retained inBritish English,where the name is also extended to cover several other small species of the genus. However, in technical discourse and in American usage, the term "weasel" can refer to any member of the genus, the genus as a whole, and even to members of the related genusNeogale.Of the 16 extant species currently classified in the genusMustela,10 have "weasel" in their common names. Among those that do not are the three species of ermine,^{[* 1]}thepolecats,theferret,and theEuropean mink.^[4]^: 12

TheAmerican minkand the extinctsea minkwere commonly included in this genus asMustela visonandMustela macrodon,respectively, but in 1999 they were moved to the genusNeovison.^[5]In 2021, bothNeovisonspecies, along with thelong-tailed weasel(Mustela frenata),Amazon weasel(Mustela africana) andColombian weasel(Mustela felipei) were moved to the genusNeogale,as the clade containing these five species was found to be fully distinct fromMustela.^[6]

Taxonomy

The genus nameMustelacomes from the Latin word for weasel combining the wordsmusmeaning "mouse" andtelummeaning "javelin" for its long body.^[4]^: 3

Species

The following information is according to theIntegrated Taxonomic Information SystemandMammalDiversity.

Scientific name	Common name	Distribution
Mustela altaicaPallas, 1811	Mountain weasel	NorthernandSouthern Asia
Mustela lutreolinaRobinson and Thomas, 1917	Indonesian mountain weasel	Southern Asia
Mustela ermineaLinnaeus, 1758	Stoat,Beringian ermine, Eurasian ermine, or short-tailed weasel	Europe and Northern Asia ArcticCanadaandAlaska(United States) Southern Asia (non-native) New Zealand (non-native)
Mustela nivalisLinnaeus, 1766	Least weasel	Europe,North Africaand Northern Asia North America Southern Asia (non-native) New Zealand (non-native)
Mustela aistoodonnivalisWu & Kao, 1991	Missing-toothed pygmy weasel	ShaanxiandSichuan,China
Mustela richardsoniiBonaparte, 1838	American ermine	Most of North America south of Alaska and the Arctic Circle; eastern Nunavut and Baffin Island
Mustela haidarumPreble, 1898	Haida ermine	Haida Gwaii(British Columbia,Canada) andAlexander Archipelago(Alaska, United States)
Mustela eversmanii(Lesson, 1827)	Steppe polecat	Southeast Europe and Northern Asia Southern Asia
Mustela furoLinnaeus, 1758	Domestic ferret	Domestic Worldwide (domesticated); New Zealand (non-native)
Mustela putoriusLinnaeus, 1758	European polecat	Europe,North Africaand Northern Asia
Mustela itatsiTemminck, 1844	Japanese weasel	Japan and formerlySakhalin Island,Russia
Mustela sibiricaPallas, 1773	Siberian weasel	Europe and Northern Asia Southern Asia
Mustela kathiahHodgson, 1835	Yellow-bellied weasel	Southern Asia
Mustela lutreola(Linnaeus, 1761)	European mink	Europe
Mustela nigripes(Audubon and Bachman, 1851)	Black-footed ferret	North America
Mustela nudipesDesmarest, 1822	Malayan weasel	Southern Asia
Mustela strigidorsaGray, 1855	Back-striped weasel	Southern Asia

¹Europe and Northern Asia division excludes China.

Cultural meanings

Weasels have been assigned a variety of cultural meanings.

InGreek culture,a weasel near one's house is a sign of bad luck, even evil, "especially if there is in the household a girl about to be married", since the animal (based on its Greek etymology) was thought to be an unhappy bride who was transformed into a weasel^[7]and consequently delights in destroying wedding dresses.^[8]InMacedonia,however, weasels are generally seen as an omen of good fortune.^[7]^[8]

Inearly-modern Mecklenburg,Germany, amulets from weasels were deemed to have strong magic; the period between 15 August and 8 September was specifically designated for the killing of weasels.^[9]^: 255

InMontagne Noire(France),Ruthenia,and theearly medievalculture of theWends,weasels were not meant to be killed.^[9]

According toDaniel Defoealso, meeting a weasel is a bad omen.^[10]In English-speaking areas, weasel can be an insult, noun or verb, for someone regarded as sneaky, conniving or untrustworthy. Similarly, "weasel words"is a critical term for words or phrasing that are vague, misleading or equivocal.

Japanese superstitions

"Ten" from theGazu Hyakki YagyōbySekien Toriyama

In Japan, weasels(Chồn sóc, chồn sóc chuột,itachi)were seen asyōkai(causing strange occurrences). According to the encyclopediaWakan Sansai Zuefrom theEdo period,a pack of weasels would cause conflagrations, and the cry of a weasel was considered a harbinger of misfortune. In theNiigata Prefecture,the sound of a pack of weasels making a rustle resembled six people hulling rice, so was called the "weasel's six-person mortar", and it was an omen for one's home to decline or flourish. It is said that when people chase after this sound, the sound stops.^[11]

They are also said to shapeshift like the fox (kitsune) ortanuki,and thenyūdō-bōzutold about in legends in theTōhoku regionand theChūbu regionare considered weasels in disguise, and they are also said to shapeshift intoōnyūdōand little monks.^[11]

In the collection of depictionsGazu Hyakki YagyōbySekien Toriyama,they were depicted under the title chồn sóc, but they were read not as "itachi",but rather as"ten",^[12]and "ten" were considered to be weasels that have reached one hundred years of age and became yōkai that possessed supernatural powers.^[13]Another theory is that when weasels reach several hundred years of age, they becomemujina(Japanese badgers).^[14]

In Japanese, weasels are callediizunaorizuna(Cơm cương)and in theTōhoku RegionandShinshu,it was believed that there were families that were able to use a certain practice to freely usekudagitsuneasiizuna-tsukaiorkitsune-mochi.It is said thatMount Iizuna,from theNagano Prefecture,got its name due to how the gods gave people mastery of this technique from there.^[15]

According to thefolklorist Mutō Tetsujō,"They are calledizunain theSenboku District,^{[* 2]}Akita Prefecture,and there are also the ichiko (itako) that use them. "^[16]Also, in theKitaakita District,they are calledmōsuke( mãnh trợ ), and they are feared asyōkaieven more than foxes (kitsune).^[16]

In theAinu language,ermines are calledupas-čironnuporsáčiri,but since least weasels are also calledsáčiri,Mashio Chirisurmised that the honorary titlepoy-sáčiri-kamuy(wherepoymeans "small" ) refers to least weasels.^[17]

Kamaitachi

Kamaitachiis a phenomenon wherein one who is idle is suddenly injured as if his or her skin were cut by a scythe. In the past, this was thought to be "the deed of an invisibleyōkaiweasel ". An alternate theory, asserts thatkamaitachiis derived fromkamae Tachi(Cấu え thái đao,"stance sword" ),so were not originally related to weasels at all.^[18]

Notes

^These three species areMustela erminea,(theEurasian ermineor stoat);M. haidarum,(theHaida ermine); andM. richardsonii,(theAmerican ermine).
^However, in the Senboku District, especially in Obonai village(Sinh bảo nội thôn),they are calledokojo.^[16]

References

^Shorter Oxford English dictionary.United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804.ISBN 978-0199206872.
^Valkenburgh, Blaire Van; Wayne, Robert K. (9 November 2010)."Carnivores".Current Biology.20(21): R915–R919.Bibcode:2010CBio...20.R915V.doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010.09.013.ISSN 0960-9822.PMID 21056828.S2CID 235312150.
^^a ^b"The Weasel".The Mammal Society.Retrieved11 April2017.
^^a ^bKing, Carolyn M.; Powell, Roger A. (2006).The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats: Ecology, Behavior, and Management.Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-804113-9.
^Abramov, A.V. 1999. A taxonomic review of the genusMustela(Mammalia, Carnivora).Zoosystematica Rossica,8(2): 357-364
^Patterson, Bruce D.; Ramírez-Chaves, Héctor E.; Vilela, Júlio F.; Soares, André E. R.; Grewe, Felix (2021)."On the nomenclature of the American clade of weasels (Carnivora: Mustelidae)".Journal of Animal Diversity.3(2): 1–8.doi:10.52547/JAD.2021.3.2.1.ISSN 2676-685X.S2CID 236299740.
^^a ^bLawson, John Cuthbert (2012).Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion: A Study in Survivals.Cambridge UP. pp. 327–28.ISBN 978-1-107-67703-6.
^^a ^bAbbott, George Frederick (1903).Macedonian folklore.Cambridge UP. pp.108–109.Retrieved13 February2012.
^^a ^bThomas, N.W. (September 1900)."Animal Superstitions and Totemism".Folk-lore.11(3): 228–67.doi:10.1080/0015587X.1900.9719953.JSTOR 1253113.
^Hazlitt, William Carew; Brand, John (1905).Faiths and folklore: a dictionary of national beliefs, superstitions and popular customs, past and current, with their classical and foreign analogues, described and illustrated.Reeves and Turner. p.622.Retrieved13 February2012.
^^a ^bThôn thượng kiện tư biên 『 yêu quái sự điển 』 mỗi ngày tin tức xã, 2000 năm, 36 trang.ISBN 978-4-6203-1428-0.
^Cao điền vệ giam tu đạo điền hết lòng tin theo ・ điền trung thẳng ngày biên 『 điểu núi đá yến họa đồ bách quỷ dạ hành 』 quốc thư phát hành sẽ, 1992 năm, 50 trang.ISBN 978-4-336-03386-4.
^Thiếu niên xã ・ trung thôn hữu kỷ phu ・ võ điền えり tử biên 『 yêu quái の bổn dị giới の ám に xuẩn く bách quỷ dạ hành の vân nói 』 học tập nghiên cứu xã 〈New sight mook〉, 1999 năm, 123 trang.ISBN 978-4-05-602048-9.
^Dân dã xảo 『 ảo tưởng động vật sự điển 』 kỷ nguyên mới xã, 1997 năm, 30 trang.ISBN 978-4-88317-283-2.
^『 quảng từ uyển đệ 4 bản 』(1991 năm ), nham sóng hiệu sách “いづなつかい【 cơm cương sử ・ cơm 縄 khiển 】” の hạng
^^a ^b ^cVõ đằng, thiết thành (1940),"Thu điền quận ấp cá đàm",アチックミユーゼアム hội báo,45:41–42,Bắc thu điền ではモウスケと xưng して hồ より sợ がられ, tiên bắc địa phương ではイヅナと xưng し, それを sử う vu nữ (エチコ)もある. Tên khoa học コエゾイタチを, này の phó gần..〔 sinh bảo nội thôn 〕では..オコジョと vân ふ( điền khẩu cày chi trợ thị ).
^Biết, thật chí bảo (Chiri, Mashiho) (30 March 1959),"アイヌ ngữ thú danh tập (On the names of the mammals of the Ainu language)"(PDF),Hokkaido đại học văn học bộ kỷ yếu = the Annual Reports on Cultural Science:141,ISSN 0437-6668,archived(PDF)from the original on 9 October 2022{{citation}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Nhân văn xã biên tập bộ (2005).Chư quốc quái đàm chuyện lạ tổng thể giang hộ chư quốc trăm vật ngữ đông Nhật Bản biên.ものしりシリーズ. Nhân văn xã. p. 104.ISBN 978-4-7959-1955-6.

External links

The dictionary definition ofweaselat Wiktionary
Media related toMustelaat Wikimedia Commons
Data related toMustelaat Wikispecies

[4] These three species areMustela erminea,(theEurasian ermineor stoat);M. haidarum,(theHaida ermine); andM. richardsonii,(theAmerican ermine).

[18] However, in the Senboku District, especially in Obonai village(Sinh bảo nội thôn),they are calledokojo.^[16]

[SOED-1] Shorter Oxford English dictionary.United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804.ISBN 978-0199206872.

[2] Valkenburgh, Blaire Van; Wayne, Robert K. (9 November 2010)."Carnivores".Current Biology.20(21): R915–R919.Bibcode:2010CBio...20.R915V.doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010.09.013.ISSN 0960-9822.PMID 21056828.S2CID 235312150.

[WeaselSize-3] "The Weasel".The Mammal Society.Retrieved11 April2017.

[NHoWaS-5] King, Carolyn M.; Powell, Roger A. (2006).The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats: Ecology, Behavior, and Management.Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-804113-9.

[6] Abramov, A.V. 1999. A taxonomic review of the genusMustela(Mammalia, Carnivora).Zoosystematica Rossica,8(2): 357-364

[7] Patterson, Bruce D.; Ramírez-Chaves, Héctor E.; Vilela, Júlio F.; Soares, André E. R.; Grewe, Felix (2021)."On the nomenclature of the American clade of weasels (Carnivora: Mustelidae)".Journal of Animal Diversity.3(2): 1–8.doi:10.52547/JAD.2021.3.2.1.ISSN 2676-685X.S2CID 236299740.

[lawson-8] Lawson, John Cuthbert (2012).Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion: A Study in Survivals.Cambridge UP. pp. 327–28.ISBN 978-1-107-67703-6.

[abbott-9] Abbott, George Frederick (1903).Macedonian folklore.Cambridge UP. pp.108–109.Retrieved13 February2012.

[Thomas1900-10] Thomas, N.W. (September 1900)."Animal Superstitions and Totemism".Folk-lore.11(3): 228–67.doi:10.1080/0015587X.1900.9719953.JSTOR 1253113.

[11] Hazlitt, William Carew; Brand, John (1905).Faiths and folklore: a dictionary of national beliefs, superstitions and popular customs, past and current, with their classical and foreign analogues, described and illustrated.Reeves and Turner. p.622.Retrieved13 February2012.

[yokaijiten-12] Thôn thượng kiện tư biên 『 yêu quái sự điển 』 mỗi ngày tin tức xã, 2000 năm, 36 trang.ISBN 978-4-6203-1428-0.

[13] Cao điền vệ giam tu đạo điền hết lòng tin theo ・ điền trung thẳng ngày biên 『 điểu núi đá yến họa đồ bách quỷ dạ hành 』 quốc thư phát hành sẽ, 1992 năm, 50 trang.ISBN 978-4-336-03386-4.

[14] Thiếu niên xã ・ trung thôn hữu kỷ phu ・ võ điền えり tử biên 『 yêu quái の bổn dị giới の ám に xuẩn く bách quỷ dạ hành の vân nói 』 học tập nghiên cứu xã 〈New sight mook〉, 1999 năm, 123 trang.ISBN 978-4-05-602048-9.

[15] Dân dã xảo 『 ảo tưởng động vật sự điển 』 kỷ nguyên mới xã, 1997 năm, 30 trang.ISBN 978-4-88317-283-2.

[koj2-16] 『 quảng từ uyển đệ 4 bản 』(1991 năm ), nham sóng hiệu sách “いづなつかい【 cơm cương sử ・ cơm 縄 khiển 】” の hạng

[muto-042-17] Võ đằng, thiết thành (1940),"Thu điền quận ấp cá đàm",アチックミユーゼアム hội báo,45:41–42,Bắc thu điền ではモウスケと xưng して hồ より sợ がられ, tiên bắc địa phương ではイヅナと xưng し, それを sử う vu nữ (エチコ)もある. Tên khoa học コエゾイタチを, này の phó gần..〔 sinh bảo nội thôn 〕では..オコジョと vân ふ( điền khẩu cày chi trợ thị ).

[19] Biết, thật chí bảo (Chiri, Mashiho) (30 March 1959),"アイヌ ngữ thú danh tập (On the names of the mammals of the Ainu language)"(PDF),Hokkaido đại học văn học bộ kỷ yếu = the Annual Reports on Cultural Science:141,ISSN 0437-6668,archived(PDF)from the original on 9 October 2022{{citation}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[shokoku-20] Nhân văn xã biên tập bộ (2005).Chư quốc quái đàm chuyện lạ tổng thể giang hộ chư quốc trăm vật ngữ đông Nhật Bản biên.ものしりシリーズ. Nhân văn xã. p. 104.ISBN 978-4-7959-1955-6.

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