Least Weasel
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 Two Least Weasels, fighting.
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| Mustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1766 |
The Least Weasel, Mustela nivalis is the smallest member of the genus Mustela, and indeed, the smallest extant mammalian carnivore.
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[edit] Nomenclature
In Britain the Least Weasel is known simply as the Weasel, and this is the original use of the word. In zoological use "weasel" on its own is now more usually applied to the genus, and in North America it is used as a common name for a number of species. However, most literary references to weasels are in fact to the Least Weasel. The sinister Weasels of The Wind in the Willows, for example, are Mustela nivalis.
[edit] Subspecies
- North Weasel (Mustela nivalis nivalis), North-Scandinavia, Russia, North-America
- South Weasel (Mustela nivalis vulgaris), South Europe and Middle Asia
[edit] Habitat
The Least Weasel is found throughout the northern parts of Europe, Asia and North America, except for Ireland, Iceland and eastern Canada; it extends as far south as North Africa. It has been introduced into New Zealand. The North American population was formally classified as a separate species, Mustela rixosa, but it is now thought that the distinction cannot be maintained. They are generally found in farmlands, meadows, brushy areas and woodland edges.
Through much of its European range, the Least Weasel overlaps with the somewhat larger but otherwise similar Stoat.
[edit] Anatomy
Like all weasels, the Least Weasel is a slender animal with a long tail and short legs, enabling it to follow its prey—mostly small rodents—into their burrows. They also kill hares, which can be more than 100 times their own size. Its fur is reddish-ginger, brighter than that of most other weasels, with white belly fur; in the northern parts of its range it moults to pure white in winter, as camouflage against the snow (which is why it goes by the name of Snow Weasel in some northern regions, and is called Snow Mouse in Norway and Sweden). It is rarely more than 23 centimeters (9 in) long. Although most active at night, weasels are sometimes seen during the day.
[edit] Legacy
Least Weasels are highly solitary, and even mating does not occur without a fight. Females can breed several times in a year when food is plentiful. Perhaps because of their small size, Least Weasels have an even greater reputation for ferocity than the other weasels, and there are many references to them in the popular cultures of different countries. Traditional Inuit lore held the Least Weasel in great respect because of its pugnacious nature, and the capture of one was regarded as an omen of good luck. In classical and medieval European mythology, it is sometimes said that the only thing which can kill a basilisk is a weasel (by which is meant Mustela nivalis), though it would be killed in the conflict as well. The earliest record of this claim is in Pliny's Naturalis Historia, book 8, par. 33. [1] It was repeated by Isidore of Seville in his Etymologiae, and subsequently by many medieval bestiarists.
[edit] References
- Mustelid Specialist Group (1996). Mustela nivalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2006). The Common Weasel (Mustela nivalis, Linnaeus 1766) in Palestine and the East Mediterranean Region.Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. Number 57, September 2006. pp. 1-7.
