The Egyptian weasel is a unique population of the

least weasel The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus ''Mustela,'' Family (biology), family Mustelidae and Order (biology), order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North Ame ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to northern

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. 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 ...

. It was formerly considered a distinct species, as ''Mustela subpalmata''.

Taxonomy

Due to its great resemblance to the

(''M. nivalis''), the Egyptian weasel was only suggested to be a separate species in 1992, based on measures of skull sizes. However, results of a

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

study indicate that

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

supports the Egyptian weasel to be an isolated population of ''Mustela nivalis'', namely the subspecies ''numidica'', which occurs in other parts of the Mediterranean basin, rather than a distinct species, or even a subspecies. The

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence ...

has since recognized it as conspecific with ''M. nivalis''.

Characteristics

The Egyptian weasel has short legs, a small head, and small ears. Its tail is long and thin. The weasel has a broad snout. The upper part of the body is brown and the lower part is cream-colored. Sizes for the Egyptian weasel are: *Male head–body length: *Female head–body length: *Male tail length: *Female tail length: *Male weight: *Female weight: .

Distribution and habitat

The Egyptian weasel occurs in northern Egypt from

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

eastward to

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

and southward through the delta and as far south as

Beni Suef Beni Suef ( the capital city of the Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt. The city is the location of Beni Suef University. An important agricultural trade centre on the west bank of the Nile River, the city is located 110 km (70 miles) south of ...

, located south of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. It lives in the same places as humans, including cities and villages and has been described as an obligate

synanthrope A synanthrope (from ancient Greek σύν ''sýn'' "together, with" and ἄνθρωπος ''ánthrōpos'' "man") is an organism that evolved to live near humans and benefit from human settlements and their environmental modifications (see also ...

Behaviour and ecology

The Egyptian weasel is omnivorous and includes a significant amount (~50%) of vegetables and fruit in its diet, as well as waste human food and animals including rodents, chicks of poultry, rabbits, fish and insects. Their varied and opportunistic diet reflects their opportunistic synanthropic lifestyle. The males of the Egyptian weasel are solitary and highly

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

, marking the territorial boundaries with urine and faeces. The female may establish a territory within a male's territory within which she will make a nest in a cavity, wall crevice or rock pile. She defends this territory from other females.

Reproduction

During courtship, the pair trill and chatter and copulation can be quite a loud affair. After copulating she may remain with the male or the pair may separate and seek other mates. The females gives birth in her nest to a litter of between four and nine young, up to three times a year, if food supply allows.

Threats

At present, it is not considered threatened. Future potential threats are chemicals such as

rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Some rodenticides ...

s, predation by domestic dogs and diseases.

References

External links

* *
Nature.british-towns.net
* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q254223, from2=Q9047345 Weasels Vertebrates of Egypt Endemic fauna of Egypt Mammals described in 1833 Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg Taxa named by Wilhelm Hemprich