The back-striped weasel (''Mustela strigidorsa''), also called the stripe-backed weasel, is a weasel widely distributed in Southeastern Asia. It is listed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

in view of its presumed large population, occurrence in many protected areas, apparent tolerance to some degree of habitat modification and hunting pressure.

Characteristics

The back-striped weasel is distinguished from all other '' Mustela'' species by the presence of a narrow, silvery dorsal streak extending from the

occiput The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone lies over the occipital lobes of the ...

almost to the root of the tail, with a corresponding yellowish ventral streak from the chest along the abdomen. The general colour of the dorsal surface varies from deep to paler chocolate brown, sometimes a little paler on the head and usually slightly darkened along the side of the dorsal streak. The tail and limbs are of the same hue as the back. The upper lip from the rhinarium, the chin and the throat up to the level of the ears are pale varying from whitish to ochreous. On the hind throat and fore chest, the pale hue gradually narrows in extent, and is quite narrow between the forelegs, where it passes into the ventral streak, which expands on the inguinal region between thighs. The pads of the feet are well developed, the plantar ads being four-lobed, with the area around them entirely naked. The bushy tail is rather long, being more than half the length of the head and body. The length of head and body of males is , while the tail length is . A live-captured juvenile male was estimated to weigh only .

Distribution and habitat

The occurrence of the stripe-backed weasel has been confirmed from scattered localities in and around northeastern

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 ...

, northern and central

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, northern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, northern and central

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

at an elevation range from sea level to . It inhabits a wide variety of habitats, and it is not yet possible to define its habitat needs. Specimens collected came from dense hill jungle, hill evergreen forest, disturbed evergreen forest, lower montane evergreen forest and lowland evergreen forest. Most field sightings were in daylight. In India, it was recorded in Dampa Tiger Reserve in 1994, and in Namdapha National Park. In Laos, two individuals were sighted in 2008, both near streams in evergreen forest in Nakai–Nam Theun National Biodiversity Conservation Area.

Ecology and behavior

In the Naga Hills, one was seen fighting with a large

bandicoot rat ''Bandicota'' is a genus of rodents from Asia known as the bandicoot rats. Their common name and genus name are derived from the Telugu language word ''pandikokku'' (పందికొక్కు). DNA studies have found the group to be a monop ...

Threats

The back-striped weasel is potentially threatened by snares placed in its habitat, which target small edible wildlife.

Conservation

The back-striped weasel is protected in Thailand and nationally listed as Endangered in China.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1142024 back-striped weasel Mammals of Southeast Asia Mammals of China Mammals of Laos Mammals of Thailand Mammals of Vietnam Fauna of Sikkim Fauna of Eastern Himalaya Fauna of Yunnan back-striped weasel back-striped weasel