Weasel: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Mammal of the mustelid family}} | {{Short description|Mammal of the mustelid family}} | ||
{{about|the animal}} | {{about|the animal}} | ||
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} | ||
{{automatic taxobox | {{automatic taxobox | ||
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| range_map = Mustela range.png | | range_map = Mustela range.png | ||
| range_map_caption = ''Mustela'' | | range_map_caption = Combined ''Mustela'' and ''[[Neogale]]'' ranges | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Weasels''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|iː|z|əl|z}} are [[mammal]]s of the [[genus]] '''''Mustela''''' of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Mustelidae]]. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the [[least weasel]]s, [[polecat]]s, [[stoat]]s, [[ferret]]s, 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 [[badger]]s, [[otter]]s, and [[wolverine]]s), is often referred to as the "weasel family". In | '''Weasels''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|iː|z|əl|z}} are [[mammal]]s of the [[genus]] '''''Mustela''''' of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Mustelidae]]. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the [[least weasel]]s, [[polecat]]s, [[stoat]]s, [[ferret]]s, 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 [[badger]]s, [[otter]]s, and [[wolverine]]s), is often referred to as the "weasel family". In Great Britain, the term "weasel" usually refers to the smallest [[species]], the [[least weasel]] (''M. nivalis''),<ref name=SOED>{{cite book|title=Shorter Oxford English dictionary|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-0199206872|pages=3804}}</ref> the smallest [[carnivora]]n species.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Valkenburgh|first1=Blaire Van|last2=Wayne|first2=Robert K.|date=2010-11-09|title=Carnivores|journal=Current Biology|volume=20|issue=21|pages=R915–R919|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2010.09.013|pmid=21056828|s2cid=235312150|issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free|bibcode=2010CBio...20.R915V }}</ref> | ||
Least weasels vary in length from {{convert|173|to|217|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}},<ref name="WeaselSize">{{cite web|url=http://www.mammal.org.uk/species-hub/full-species-hub/full-species-hub-list/species-weasel/|title=The Weasel|publisher=The Mammal Society| access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref> females being smaller than the males, and usually have red or brown upper coats and white bellies; some populations of some species [[moult]] to a wholly white coat in winter. They have long, slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails may be from {{convert|34|to|52|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="WeaselSize" /> | Least weasels vary in length from {{convert|173|to|217|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}},<ref name="WeaselSize">{{cite web|url=http://www.mammal.org.uk/species-hub/full-species-hub/full-species-hub-list/species-weasel/|title=The Weasel|publisher=The Mammal Society|access-date=11 April 2017|archive-date=12 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412061518/http://www.mammal.org.uk/species-hub/full-species-hub/full-species-hub-list/species-weasel/|url-status=dead}}</ref> females being smaller than the males, and usually have red or brown upper coats and white bellies; some populations of some species [[moult]] to a wholly white coat in winter. They have long, slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails may be from {{convert|34|to|52|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="WeaselSize" /> | ||
Weasels feed on small mammals and have from time to time been considered [[vermin]] because some species took [[poultry]] from farms or [[rabbit]]s from commercial warrens. They do, on the other hand, eat large numbers of [[rodent]]s. Their range spans [[Europe]], [[North America]], much of [[Asia | Weasels feed on small mammals and have from time to time been considered [[vermin]] because some species took [[poultry]] from farms or [[rabbit]]s from commercial warrens. They do, on the other hand, eat large numbers of [[rodent]]s. Their range spans [[Europe]], [[North America]], much of [[Asia]], and small areas in [[North Africa]]. | ||
==Terminology== | ==Terminology== | ||
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According to the [[folklore studies|folklorist]] [[Mutō Tetsujō]], "They are called ''izuna'' in the [[Senboku District, Akita|Senboku District]],{{refn|group="*"|However, in the Senboku District, especially in {{nihongo|Obonai village|生保内村}}, they are called ''okojo''.<ref name="muto-042"/>}} [[Akita Prefecture]], and there are also the ichiko ([[itako]]) that use them."<ref name="muto-042">{{citation|last=武藤|first=鉄城|title=秋田郡邑魚譚|journal=アチックミユーゼアム彙報|volume=45|year=1940|url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1461537/189|pages=41–42|quote=北秋田ではモウスケと称して狐より怖がられ、仙北地方ではイヅナと称し、それを使う巫女(エチコ)もある。学名コエゾイタチを、此の付近..〔生保内村〕では..オコジョと云ふ(田口耕之助氏)}}。</ref> Also, in the [[Kitaakita District, Akita|Kitaakita District]], they are called'' mōsuke'' (猛助), and they are feared as ''yōkai'' even more than foxes (''[[kitsune]]'').<ref name="muto-042"/> | According to the [[folklore studies|folklorist]] [[Mutō Tetsujō]], "They are called ''izuna'' in the [[Senboku District, Akita|Senboku District]],{{refn|group="*"|However, in the Senboku District, especially in {{nihongo|Obonai village|生保内村}}, they are called ''okojo''.<ref name="muto-042"/>}} [[Akita Prefecture]], and there are also the ichiko ([[itako]]) that use them."<ref name="muto-042">{{citation|last=武藤|first=鉄城|title=秋田郡邑魚譚|journal=アチックミユーゼアム彙報|volume=45|year=1940|url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1461537/189|pages=41–42|quote=北秋田ではモウスケと称して狐より怖がられ、仙北地方ではイヅナと称し、それを使う巫女(エチコ)もある。学名コエゾイタチを、此の付近..〔生保内村〕では..オコジョと云ふ(田口耕之助氏)}}。</ref> Also, in the [[Kitaakita District, Akita|Kitaakita District]], they are called'' mōsuke'' (猛助), and they are feared as ''yōkai'' even more than foxes (''[[kitsune]]'').<ref name="muto-042"/> | ||
In the [[Ainu language]], ermines are called ''upas-čironnup'' or ''sáčiri'', but since least weasels are also called ''sáčiri'', [[Mashio Chiri]] surmised that the honorary title ''poy-sáčiri-kamuy'' (where ''poy'' means "small") refers to least weasels.<ref>{{citation|last=知里|first=真志保 (Chiri, Mashiho)|title=アイヌ語獣名集 (On the names of the mammals of the Ainu language)|journal=北海道大學文學部紀要 = | In the [[Ainu language]], ermines are called ''upas-čironnup'' or ''sáčiri'', but since least weasels are also called ''sáčiri'', [[Mashio Chiri]] surmised that the honorary title ''poy-sáčiri-kamuy'' (where ''poy'' means "small") refers to least weasels.<ref>{{citation|last=知里|first=真志保 (Chiri, Mashiho)|title=アイヌ語獣名集 (On the names of the mammals of the Ainu language)|journal=北海道大學文學部紀要 = The Annual Reports on Cultural Science|date=30 March 1959|url=http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/33244/1/7_PL150-121.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/33244/1/7_PL150-121.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|issn=0437-6668|page=141}}</ref> | ||
====''Kamaitachi''==== | ====''Kamaitachi''==== | ||
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[[Category:Carnivorans of North America]] | [[Category:Carnivorans of North America]] | ||
[[Category:Carnivorans of South America]] | [[Category:Carnivorans of South America]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]] | ||
[[Category:Yōkai]] | [[Category:Yōkai]] | ||
Latest revision as of 08:44, 11 October 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Template:Pp-semi-indef Template:Use dmy dates Template:Automatic taxobox
Weasels Template:IPAc-en 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, otters, and wolverines), is often referred to as the "weasel family". In Great Britain, the term "weasel" usually refers to the smallest species, the least weasel (M. nivalis),[1] the smallest carnivoran species.[2]
Least weasels vary in length from Template:Convert,[3] females being smaller than the males, and usually have red or brown upper coats and white bellies; some populations of some species moult to a wholly white coat in winter. They have long, slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails may be from Template:Convert 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. Their range spans Europe, North America, much of Asia, and small areas in North Africa.
Terminology
The English word "weasel" was originally applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the least weasel (Mustela nivalis). This usage is retained in British 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 genus Neogale. Of the 16 extant species currently classified in the genus Mustela, 10 have "weasel" in their common names. Among those that do not are the three species of ermine,Template:Refn the polecats, the ferret, and the European mink.[4]Template:Rp
The American mink and the extinct sea mink were commonly included in this genus as Mustela vison and Mustela macrodon, respectively, but in 1999 they were moved to the genus Neovison.[5] In 2021, both Neovison species, along with the long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), Amazon weasel (Mustela africana) and Colombian weasel (Mustela felipei) were moved to the genus Neogale, as the clade containing these five species was found to be fully distinct from Mustela.[6]
Taxonomy
The genus name Mustela comes from the Latin word for weasel combining the words mus meaning "mouse" and telum meaning "javelin" for its long body.[4]Template:Rp
Species
The following information is according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System and MammalDiversity.
| Subgenus | Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mustela | File:Mountain Weasel (Mustela altaica).jpg | Mustela altaica Pallas, 1811Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Mountain weasel | Northern and Southern Asia |
| Mustela aistoodonnivalis Wu & Kao, 1991Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Missing-toothed pygmy weasel | Shaanxi and Sichuan, China | ||
| File:Mustela erminea upright2.jpg | Mustela erminea Linnaeus, 1758Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Stoat, Beringian ermine, Eurasian ermine, or short-tailed weasel |
Europe and Northern Asia Arctic Canada and Alaska (United States) Southern Asia (non-native) New Zealand (non-native) | |
| File:Haida Ermine (Mustela haidarum).jpg | Mustela haidarum Preble, 1898 | Haida ermine | Haida Gwaii (British Columbia, Canada) and Alexander Archipelago (Alaska, United States) | |
| File:Yellow bellied weasel, Shillong, India.jpg | Mustela kathiah Hodgson, 1835Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Yellow-bellied weasel | Southern Asia | |
| File:Mustela nivalis -British Wildlife Centre-4.jpg | Mustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1766Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Least weasel | Europe, North Africa and Northern Asia North America Southern Asia (non-native) New Zealand (non-native) | |
| File:Ermine- Bacon Fiend (14083889879).jpg | Mustela richardsonii Bonaparte, 1838 | American ermine | Most of North America south of Alaska and the Arctic Circle; eastern Nunavut and Baffin Island | |
| Lutreola | File:Mustela itatsi on tree.JPG | Mustela itatsi Temminck, 1844Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Japanese weasel | Japan and formerly Sakhalin Island, Russia |
| File:Mink1.jpg | Mustela lutreola (Linnaeus, 1761)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | European mink | Europe | |
| Mustela lutreolina Robinson and Thomas, 1917Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Indonesian mountain weasel | Southeastern Asia | ||
| Mustela nudipes Desmarest, 1822Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Malayan weasel | Southeastern Asia | ||
| File:Siberian Weasel Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 14.05.2016.jpg | Mustela sibirica Pallas, 1773Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Siberian weasel | Europe and Northern Asia Southern Asia | |
| File:Mustela strigidorsa.gif | Mustela strigidorsa Gray, 1855Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Back-striped weasel | Southern Asia | |
| Putorius | File:Wild steppe polecat.jpg | Mustela eversmanii (Lesson, 1827)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Steppe polecat | Southeast Europe and Northern Asia Southern Asia |
| File:Ferret 2008.png | Mustela furo Linnaeus, 1758 | Domestic ferret | Domestic
Worldwide (domesticated); New Zealand (non-native) | |
| File:Polecat in denmark.jpg | Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | European polecat | Europe, North Africa and Northern Asia | |
| File:Mustela nigripes 2.jpg | Mustela nigripes (Audubon and Bachman, 1851)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Black-footed ferret | North America |
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1 Europe and Northern Asia division excludes China.
Cultural meanings
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Weasels have been assigned a variety of cultural meanings.
In Greek 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] In Macedonia, however, weasels are generally seen as an omen of good fortune.[7][8]
In early-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]Template:Rp
In Montagne Noire (France), Ruthenia, and the early medieval culture of the Wends, weasels were not meant to be killed.[9]
According to Daniel Defoe also, 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
In Japan, Script error: No such module "Nihongo". were seen as yōkai (causing strange occurrences). According to the encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue from the Edo period, a pack of weasels would cause conflagrations, and the cry of a weasel was considered a harbinger of misfortune. In the Niigata 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) or tanuki, and the nyūdō-bōzu told about in legends in the Tōhoku region and the Chūbu region are considered weasels in disguise, and they are also said to shapeshift into ōnyūdō and little monks.[11]
In the collection of depictions Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Sekien Toriyama, they were depicted under the title 鼬, 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 become mujina (Japanese badgers).[14]
In Japanese, weasels are called Script error: No such module "Nihongo". and in the Tōhoku Region and Shinshu, it was believed that there were families that were able to use a certain practice to freely use kudagitsune as iizuna-tsukai or kitsune-mochi. It is said that Mount Iizuna, from the Nagano Prefecture, got its name due to how the gods gave people mastery of this technique from there.[15]
According to the folklorist Mutō Tetsujō, "They are called izuna in the Senboku District,Template:Refn Akita Prefecture, and there are also the ichiko (itako) that use them."[16] Also, in the Kitaakita District, they are called mōsuke (猛助), and they are feared as yōkai even more than foxes (kitsune).[16]
In the Ainu language, ermines are called upas-čironnup or sáčiri, but since least weasels are also called sáčiri, Mashio Chiri surmised that the honorary title poy-sáčiri-kamuy (where poy means "small") refers to least weasels.[17]
Kamaitachi
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
Kamaitachi is 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 invisible yōkai weasel". An alternate theory, asserts that kamaitachi is derived from Script error: No such module "Nihongo"., so were not originally related to weasels at all.[18]
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
- Nowak, Ronald M., and Ernest P. Walker. Walker's Carnivores of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.
- C. Hart Merriam, Synopsis of the Weasels of North America, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1896.
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
External links
Template:Weasels Template:Carnivora Template:Musteloidea Template:Taxonbar Template:Authority control
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Abramov, A.V. 1999. A taxonomic review of the genus Mustela (Mammalia, Carnivora). Zoosystematica Rossica, 8(2): 357-364
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b 村上健司編著 『妖怪事典』 毎日新聞社、2000年、36頁。Template:ISBN。
- ↑ 高田衛監修 稲田篤信・田中直日編 『鳥山石燕 画図百鬼夜行』 国書刊行会、1992年、50頁。Template:ISBN。
- ↑ 少年社・中村友紀夫・武田えり子編 『妖怪の本 異界の闇に蠢く百鬼夜行の伝説』 学習研究社〈New sight mook〉、1999年、123頁。Template:ISBN。
- ↑ 草野巧 『幻想動物事典』 新紀元社、1997年、30頁。Template:ISBN。
- ↑ 『広辞苑 第4版』(1991年)、岩波書店「いづなつかい【飯綱使・飯縄遣】」の項
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".。
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".