Skip to content
Vinony
English
EnglishDeutschEspañolFrançaisItalianoNederlandsPolskiPortuguêsSvenskaTiếng ViệtTürkçeРусскийالعربيةفارسیไทย한국어中文日本語
Mustela nivalis

File:Mustela_nivalis_-British_Wildlife_Centre-4.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ25311· pop 121· linked from 800 articles

Mustela nivalis

Sign in to save

Also known as least weasel, snow weasel, dwarf weasel, weasel

species of mammal

OverviewAI-generated

Mustela nivalis, commonly known as the weasel, is a species within the family Mustelidae. It belongs to the order Carnivora, class Mammalia, phylum Chordata, and kingdom Animalia. The taxon was described by Linnaeus in 1766. Its parent taxon is the weasel. The organism exhibits diurnality and inhabits forests.

The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List in 2019. It is invasive to New Zealand. Biological records indicate a gestation period of 35 days, a mass of 1.4, and a litter size of 4.7. The longest observed lifespan is 9.1 years, and it has a bite force quotient of 164. Its temporal range start is the Chibanian.

Records of this species exist in Canada, the United States, Greece, and Russia. Media and occurrence data are held by institutions including CM, CUMV, UMZM, SUI, and MSB. The species is referenced by 800 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 45 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Gbif Occ, IUCN Red List, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

Mustela nivalis

SPECIES

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassMammalia
  4. OrderCarnivora
  5. FamilyMustelidae
Observations recorded91,265

Mustela nivalis La Belette d'Europe (Mustela nivalis), aussi connue sous les noms de Belette pygmée[1], Petite belette, ou tout simplement Belette, est le plus petit mammifère de la famille des mustélidés et constitue également le plus petit mammifère carnivore d'Europe avec une taille d'environ 20 cm pour moins d'une centaine de grammes seulement. La belette peut facilement être confondue avec une hermine. Celle-ci est cependant un peu plus grosse[a] et la limite des couleurs sur les flancs est moins nette et plus irrégulière chez la belette que chez l’hermine. De plus, l'hermine a le bout de la queue noir, ce qui n'est pas le cas de la belette. Contrairement à l'hermine (en Europe occidentale), la belette garde son pelage brun en hiver. Elle possède aussi systématiquement une tache brune dans le pelage blanc sous la joue[2],[3]. Sommaire 1 Étymologie 2 Description 2.1 Alimentation 2.2 Mode de vie 2.3 Reproduction 3 Dangers 4 Populations 5 Notes et références 5.1 Notes 5.2 Références 6 Voir aussi 6.1 Articles connexes 6.2 Références taxonomiques 6.3 Liens externes 6.4 Bibliographie Étymologie Son nom de petite belle se retrouve sous des formes voisines (petite femme, petite fiancé

via GBIF · IUCN

Museum specimens

Specimen records
2,662
With media
943
Family
Mustelidae
Collections
CM, CUMV, UMZM, SUI, MSB, YPM
Recorded in
Canada, United States, Greece, Russia
iDigBio →

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
weasel
Mass
1.4
Image
Mustela nivalis -British Wildlife Centre-4.jpg
Show 15 more facts
taxon rank
species
IUCN conservation status
Least Concern
taxon name
Mustela nivalis
Commons category
Mustela nivalis
Commons gallery
Mustela nivalis
taxon common name
Belette pygmée
gestation period
35
bite force quotient
164
invasive to
New Zealand
litter size
4.7
longest observed lifespan
9.1
habitat
forest
short name
M. nivalis
different from
caress
temporal range start
Chibanian
Sources (12)

via Wikidata · CC0

~22 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The least weasel (Mustela nivalis), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus Mustela, family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Malta, Crete, the Azores, and São Tomé. It is classified as least concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Eighteen subspecies are recognised.

The least weasel varies greatly in size over its range. The body is slender and elongated, and the legs and tail are relatively short. The colour varies geographically, as does the pelage type and length of tail. The dorsal surface, flanks, limbs and tail of the animal are usually some shade of brown while the underparts are white. The line delineating the boundary between the two colours is usually straight. At high altitudes and in the northern part of its range, the coat becomes pure white in winter.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mustela nivalis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (16)

Available in 117 languages

Show 98 more

via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0