Mustela nivalis
Linnaeus, 1766
Least Weasel
Taxonomy
| Subclass | : Theria |
| Infraclass | : Placentalia |
| Magnorder | : Boreoeutheria |
| Superorder | : Laurasiatheria |
| Order | : Carnivora |
| Suborder | : Caniformia |
| Infraorder | : Arctoidea |
| Superfamily | : Musteloidea |
| Family | : Mustelidae |
| Subfamily | : Mustelinae |
| Genus | : Mustela |
Species status
Authority citation
Linnaeus, C. 1766. Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio Duodecima, Reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 532 pp.
Authority publication link
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946265Original name as described
Mustela nivalis
Other common names
Weasel
Type material
untraced (number not known)
Type kind
nonexistent
Type locality
Sweden.
Biogeographic realm
Nearctic · Palearctic
Country distribution
United States · Canada · Morocco · Algeria · Tunisia · Portugal · Spain · France · United Kingdom · Luxembourg · Belgium · Netherlands · Germany · Denmark · Switzerland · Liechtenstein · Italy · Austria · Czech Republic · Poland · Slovakia · Hungary · Slovenia · Croatia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Serbia · Kosovo · Montenegro · Albania · North Macedonia · Greece · Bulgaria · Romania · Moldova · Ukraine · Belarus · Lithuania · Latvia · Estonia · Norway · Sweden · Finland · Georgia · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Turkey · Syria · Lebanon · Egypt · Iraq · Iran · Kazakhstan · Uzbekistan · Turkmenistan · Kyrgyzstan · Tajikistan · Afghanistan · China · Mongolia · North Korea · South Korea · Japan · Taiwan · Vietnam
Subregion distribution
USA(AK,MT,ND,SD,NE,KS,IA,IL,IN,MO,MN,WI,MI,OH,GA,SC,NC,TN,VA,WV,MD,PA,NY)
Taxonomy notes
includes subpalmata and previously included M. aistoodonnivalis; the Chinese and South East Asian forms tonkinensis, formosana, russelliana, and aistoodonnivalis have variously been considered distinct species (either closer to M. nivalis or M. kathiah) or as subspecies or synonyms of M. nivalis; these are all tentatively retained under M. nivalis, with the exception of M. aistoodonnivalis, which was recently recognized as a distinct species closer to M. erminea and these other named forms (tonkinensis and russelliana) may represent this species as well, which would make russelliana the oldest name available, although further research is needed
Taxonomy notes citation
Abramov, A. V. (2006). Taxonomic remarks on two poorly known South-east Asian weasels (Mustelidae, Mustela). Small Carnivore Conservation, 34(35), 22-24. · Groves, C. (2007). On some weasels Mustela from eastern Asia. Small Carnivore Conservation 37: 21–25. · Lin, L. K., Motokawa, M., & Harada, M. (2010). A new subspecies of the least weasel Mustela nivalis (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Taiwan. Mammal study, 35(3), 191-200. · Rodrigues, M., Bos, A. R., Hoath, R., Schembri, P. J., Lymberakis, P., Cento, M., ... & Fernandes, C. (2016). Taxonomic status and origin of the Egyptian weasel (Mustela subpalmata) inferred from mitochondrial DNA. Genetica, 144(2), 191-202. · Liu, Y., Pu, Y., Chen, S., Wang, X., Murphy, R. W., Wang, X., ... & Liu, S. (2023). Revalidation and expanded description of Mustela aistoodonnivalis (Mustelidae: Carnivora) based on a multigene phylogeny and morphology. Ecology and Evolution, 13(4), e9944.
IUCN Red List status
Least Concern
Species Permalink
https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1005874Country distribution map
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Names and synonyms
Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.
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