Ecology Reference Libraries
The European Otter, Lutra lutra, is a European member of the Mustelidae or weasel family, and is typical of freshwater otters. It may also be known as the Eurasian river otter, common otter, or Old World otter. Range and Habitat The European otter is the most widely distributed otter species. The otter is believed to be extinct in Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Otters...
The sable (Martes zibellina) is a small mammal. It is closely akin to the martens, living in northern Asia from the Ural Mountains through Siberia and Mongolia to HokkaidÅ in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia. It has achieved fame for its fur, which is integrated into various clothes fashions. Sables range in color from tan to...
The fisher is a North American marten. Despite its name, this animal seldom eats fish, but is a typical marten. It is a medium sized mustelid, agile in trees and slender enough of body to pursue prey into hollow trees or burrows in the ground. The fisher is found from the Sierra Nevada's in California to the Appalachians in West Virginia and north to New England (where it is often called a...
The pine marten (Martes martes) is an animal in the weasel family, native to Northern Europe. It's around the size of a domestic cat. Its body is up to 20.87 in (53 cm) long; its bushy tail can be 9.84 in (25 cm). Males are slightly larger than females. On average a marten weighs 3.3 lb (1.5 kg). Their fur is usually light to dark brown and grows longer and silkier during the winter months....
The beech marten (Martes foina), also known as the Stone Marten, is the most common species of marten in Central Europe. Beech martens are long, slender, short-legged predators with long, bushy tails. They grow to a size of 15.75 to 19.69 inches (40 to 50cm) in body length and weigh up to 4.41 lb (2 kg). Their brown coats have a forked white marking at the throat, which distinguishes them in...
The European Polecat (Mustela putorius), also known as a fitch, is a member of the Mustelidae family. It is related to the stoats, otters, weasels, and minks. They are dark brown with a lighter bandit-like mask across the face, pale yellow underbody fur, a long tail and short legs. They are somewhat larger than weasels, weighing between 24.69 oz (0.7 kg) for females to 59.97 oz (1.7 kg) for...
The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is a small carnivorous North American mammal closely related to the Steppe Polecat of Russia. It is a member of the diverse family Mustelidae which also includes weasels, mink, polecats, martens, otters, and badgers. It should not be confused with the domesticated ferret. The black-footed ferret is an endangered mammal in North America, according...
The long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata) is the most widely distributed mustelid in the New World. Its range extends from southern Canada through most of the United States to Mexico. It is also found in Central America and the northern parts of South America. It is generally found in open or semi-open habitats near water. This is a typical weasel with a long slender body, short legs and a...
The black-striped weasel (Mustela strigidorsa) is one of the most mysterious mammals in the northeast Oriental region, even though it occurs from Nepal east through northeast India and southern China to Vietnam. It is also found south to central Laos at altitudes from 3,281 to 8,202 feet (1000m to 2500m). It is distinguished from all other species of Mustela by the presence of a narrow...
The European Mink, Mustela lutreola, is a European member of the Mustelidae family found in some regions of Spain, France, Romania, Sweden, Poland and the greater part of Russia. It is not found east of the Ural Mountains. Formerly it extended across all Europe, reaching Finland in the north, but it is now extinct in the major part of its ancient range. It is similar in appearance to the...
