|
Weasel Family
The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the suborder Caniformia of the order Carnivora with about 66 to 70 species in nine subfamilies. Variety Mustelids vary greatly in size and behaviour. The smaller variants of the least weasel can be under in length, while the giant otter of Amazonian South America can measure up to and sea otters can exceed in weight. Wolverines can crush bones as thick as the femur of a moose to get at the marrow, and have been seen attempting to drive bears away from their kills. The sea otter uses rocks to break open shellfish to eat. Martens are largely arboreal, while European badgers dig extensive tunnel networks, called setts. Only one mustelid has been domesticated; the ferret. Tayra are also kept as pets (although they require a Dange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Pine Marten
The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and parts of Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is less commonly known as baum marten or sweet marten. Description The European pine marten's fur is usually light to dark brown. It is short and coarse in the summer, growing longer and silkier during the winter. It has a cream- to yellow-coloured "bib" marking on its throat. Its body is up to long, with a bushy tail of about . It weighs around ; males are slightly larger than females. It has excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Distribution and habitat Britain and Ireland The European pine marten was for many years common only in northwestern Scotland. A study in 2012 found that it has spread from the Scottish Highlands north into Sutherland and Caithness and southeastwards from the Great Glen into Moray, Aberde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ictonychinae
Ictonychinae is a subfamily of the mammal Family (biology), family Mustelidae found mainly in the Neotropics (three species) and Africa (three species), with one Eurasian member. It includes the grisons, Patagonian weasel, Ictonyx, striped polecats, African striped weasel, and marbled polecat. These genera were formerly included within a paraphyletic definition of the mustelid subfamily Mustelinae. Most members have a mask-like bar or larger dark marking across their faces; the African representatives of the group are striped. A defense mechanism common to the group is use of a Chemical defense#Mammals, chemical spray similar to (but not necessarily as strong as) that of skunks. Species Subfamily Ictonychinae Fossil genera *''Cernictis'' *''Enhydrictis'' *''Martellictis'' *''Lutravus'' *''Oriensictis'' *''Pannonictis'' *''Propoecilogale'' *''Sminthosinis'' *''Stipanicicia'' *''Trigonictis'' *''Trochictis'' References External links Ictonychinae, {{carnivor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polecat
Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities to European polecats, such as having a dark mask-like marking across the face. In the United States, the term ''polecat'' is sometimes applied to the black-footed ferret, a native member of the Mustelinae. In Southern United States dialect, the term ''polecat'' is sometimes used as a colloquial nickname for the skunk, which is part of the family Mephitidae. Despite their common name, polecats are related more closely to dogs than to cats. Taxonomy According to the most recent taxonomic scheme proposing eight subfamilies within Mustelidae, polecats are classified as: Subfamily Ictonychinae *Genus '' Ictonyx'' ** Striped polecat, ''I. striatus'', (native to Central, Southern, and sub-Saharan Africa) ** Saharan striped polecat, ''I. liby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among other animals. Otters' habitats include dens known as holts or couches, with their social structure described by terms such as dogs or boars for males, bitches or sows for females, and pups or cubs for offspring. Groups of otters can be referred to as a bevy, family, lodge, romp, or raft when in water, indicating their social and playful characteristics. Otters are known for their distinct feces, termed spraints, which can vary in smell from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish. Otters exhibit a varied life cycle with a gestation period of about 60–86 days, and offspring typically stay with their family for a year. They can live up to 16 years, with their diet mainly consisting of fish and sometimes frogs, birds, or shellfish, depending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badger
Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by their ancestral relationships: Musteloidea contains several families, only two of which (the "weasel family" Mustelidae and the "skunk family" Mephitidae) include badgers; moreover, both of these families also include various other animals that are not badgers. The fifteen species of mustelid badgers are grouped in four subfamilies: four species of Melinae (genera ''Meles'' and ''Arctonyx'') including the European badger, five species of Helictidinae (genus ''Melogale'') or ferret-badger, the honey badger or ratel Mellivorinae (genus ''Mellivora''), and the American badger Taxideinae (genus ''Taxidea''). Badgers include the most basal mustelids; the American badger is the most basal of all, followed successively by the ratel and the Mel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weasel
Weasels 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 the UK, the term "weasel" usually refers to the smallest species, the least weasel (''M. nivalis''), the smallest carnivoran species. Least weasels vary in length from , 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 long. Weasels feed on small mammals and have from time to time been considered vermin because some species took poultry fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnivora
Carnivora ( ) is an order of placental mammals specialized primarily in eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the sixth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species. Carnivorans are found on every major landmass and in a variety of habitats, ranging from the cold polar regions of Earth to the hyper-arid region of the Sahara Desert and the open seas. Carnivorans exhibit a wide array of body plans, varying greatly in size and shape. Carnivora are divided into two suborders, the Feliformia, containing the true felids and several animals; and the Caniformia, containing the true canids and many animals. The feliforms include the Felidae, Viverridae, hyena, and mongoose families, the majority of which live only in the Old World; cats are the only exception, occurring in the Old World and the New World, entering the Americas via the Bering land bridge. The caniforms include the Caninae, Procyonidae, bears, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligobuninae
''Oligobuninae'' is an extinct subfamily of the family Mustelidae The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivora, carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the s ... known from Miocene deposits in North America. The subfamily was described by J. A. Baskin in 1998; of the genera that he assigned to this clade, seven are recognized today - '' Brachypsalis'', '' Megalictis'', '' Oligobunis'', '' Promartes'', '' Zodiolestes'', '' Floridictis'' and '' Parabrachypsalis'' - representing thirteen separate species. '' Potamotherium'', usually considered to belong to Oligobuninae, has been reclassified as a basal pinnipedomorph in the family Semantoridae, which also includes '' Puijila'' and '' Semantor''.Berta, A., Morgan, C., & Boessenecker, R.W. (2018). "The Origin and Evolutionary Biology of Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mustelinae
Mustelinae is a subfamily of Family (biology), family Mustelidae, including weasels, ferrets, and minks. __TOC__ It was formerly defined in a paraphyletic manner to also include wolverines, martens, and many other mustelids, to the exclusion of the otters (Lutrinae). Extant species of Mustelinae Subfamily Mustelinae The sea mink (''Neogale macrodon'') is a recently extinct species from the 19th century that was native to the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces of Canada and New England in the United States. Importance for humans Some of the fashion furs come from this subfamily: ermine, weasel, mink and polecat. Ferret model of COVID-19 COVID-19 can infect both the European mink (''Mustela lutreola'') and the American mink (''Neogale vison''). Ferrets are used to study COVID-19. Ferrets get some of the same symptoms as humans, but they get less sick than farmed mink. Ferrets are a fairly uncommon animal to use as a model, but mice were not an easy model of COVID-19 beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mellivorinae
''Mellivora'' is a genus of mustelids that contains the honey badger or ratel ''(Mellivora capensis)''. It is also the sole living representative of the subfamily Mellivorinae. Additionally, two extinct species are known. The honey badger is native to much of Africa and South Asia, while fossil relatives occurred in those areas and Southern Europe. Taxonomy The genus ''Mellivora'' probably evolved from the more primitive ''Promellivora punjabiensis'' of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ... (which itself was formerly classified as ''M. punjabiensis''). The two genera are grouped together in the tribe Eomellivorini together with the extinct giant mustelids '' Eomellivora'' and '' Ekorus''. '' Mellivora benfieldi'' is considered a likely ancestor of the living ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badger (animal)
Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by their ancestral relationships: Musteloidea contains several families, only two of which (the "weasel family" Mustelidae and the "skunk family" Mephitidae) include badgers; moreover, both of these families also include various other animals that are not badgers. The fifteen species of mustelid badgers are grouped in four subfamilies: four species of Melinae (genera ''Meles'' and ''Arctonyx'') including the European badger, five species of Helictidinae (genus ''Melogale'') or ferret-badger, the honey badger or ratel Mellivorinae (genus ''Mellivora''), and the American badger Taxideinae (genus ''Taxidea''). Badgers include the most basal mustelids; the American badger is the most basal of all, followed successively by the ratel and the Melinae; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
