The Haida ermine (''Mustela haidarum'') is a

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in th ...

species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to a few islands off the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the C ...

, namely

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

and the southern

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago (russian: Архипелаг Александра) is a long archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U. ...

Indigenous names

In the

Haida language Haida (', ', ', ') is the language of the Haida people, spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of Canada and on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. An endangered language, Haida currently has 24 native speakers, though revitalizatio ...

, this species is known as ''daayáats’'' in its brown summer coat and ''tlag'' in its winter coat.

Taxonomy

The three subspecies comprising this species were originally considered subspecies of '' Mustela erminea'', but in 2013 they were recognized as distinct from any other ermine, and a 2021 study found them to together comprise a distinct species. ''M. haidarum'' is thought have originated about 375,000 years ago (during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed i ...

), and is thought to be a result of ancient hybrid speciation between the Beringian ermine (''M. erminea'') and

American ermine The American ermine or American stoat (''Mustela richardsonii'') is a species of mustelid native to most of North America. Taxonomy It was long considered conspecific with the stoat (''M. erminea''), but a 2021 study found it to be a distinc ...

(''M. richardsonii''). The islands are thought to been glacial refugia during the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eu ...

, with both species of ermine being isolated on the islands and hybridizing with one another while the ice sheets isolated them from the rest of the world, thus leading to the formation of a new species. It is recognized as a distinct species by the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...

Distribution

The species is found on a few islands off the coast of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

and

southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province o ...

. In Canada, it is found on the

archipelago in Graham and Moresby islands, while in

it is found on Prince of Wales Island and possibly

Suemez Island Suemez Island is located in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska, United States. It resides in the west-central coast of Prince of Wales Island. The northern tip of Dall Island lies to its southeast, while Baker Island lies to its nort ...

. It is found in a temperate rainforest habitat.

Description

Aside from genetic differences, ''M. haidarum'' can be distinguished from ''M. erminea'' and ''M. richardsonii'' by its elongated skull.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are thought to exist.

Conservation

The habitat for the Haida ermine has been intensively reduced over the past few centuries due to old-growth timber harvest in the

Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at . Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which is ...

, an important protected area for the species, as well as industrial-scale mining on the islands, which disproportionately affects insular endemics such as ''M. haidarum''. Expanding human populations and increasing tourism may increase the risk of pathogen spillover to ''M. haidarum'', including pathogens common to pets such as canine distemper and parvoviruses, which have negatively impacted other wild mustelids. Due to the rudimentary understanding of the true level of endemism in these northern archipelagos, these threats must be better quantified to protect species from them. The

Pacific marten The Pacific marten (''Martes caurina'') is a species of North American mammal, a member of the family Mustelidae. It is found throughout western North America. Taxonomy The species was formerly considered conspecific with the American mar ...

s (''M. caurina'') inhabiting

also represent a distinct lineage from other populations, indicating that the habitat of the islands may have allowed other distinct species or subspecies to evolve.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q107657638, from2=Q11694623 Weasels Mammals of Canada Mammals of the United States Endemic fauna of the Pacific Northwest Mammals described in 1898 Extant Pleistocene first appearances Taxa named by Edward Alexander Preble