The stoat (Mustelaerminea), also known as the ermine and the short-tailed weasel, is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae.
In most areas it coexists with the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis, also known as the European common weasel), and in this situation competition is reduced by the Least weasel, the smallest member of order Carnivora, generally taking smaller prey and the stoat slightly larger prey.
This kind of coat is very similar to the coat of the long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), a related animal of about the same size which also moults into white in the northern part of its range, and it is easy to confuse these kinds of weasels.
Originally, the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis).
Alan Lloyd's novel Kine is a fictional war in the English countryside between weasels (Mustela nivalis) and the invasive species mink (Mustela vison), who are depicted as sadistic, voracious invaders, giants in comparison to the weasels.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Weasel (482 words)
issg Database: Ecology of Mustela erminea(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-24)
However, Mustelaerminea has recently been shown to be responsible for catastrophic losses of kiwi chicks in most years (Basse et al 1999), and of hole-nesting forest birds in southern beech forests during periodic mouse irruptions (O'Donnell 1996).
Mustelaerminea has been used to exterminate pest rodents and rabbits on small islands with few alternative prey (King 1989), but only in certain conditions which are hard to meet.
Biological control: Mustelaerminea was originally transported to rabbit-infested pastures in New Zealand with human help.
Wikinfo | Weasel(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-24)
The Weasels are the genus Mustela of the mammal family Mustelidae.
Originally the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least WeaselMustela nivalis, and literary references to weasels usually refer to this species rather than to the genus as a whole.
Weasels vary in length from 15 to 35 centimetres, and usually have a light brown upper coat and a white belly; in many species, populations living at high latitudes moult to a pure white coat in winter.
Ermine,Mammals,Ermine Picture,Mammal Pictures,Catalog,Encyclopedia(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-24)
Ermine is a short-tailed WEASEL, or stoat, Mustelaerminea, whose white winterfur was used as a badge of royalty in Europe.
Mustelaerminea is found in North America, Europe, and Asia, and in the warmer parts of its range it may retain its brownish summer coat throughout the year or become only partly white in winter.
By extension, ermine refers to the white winterfur of several other species of weasel and to the white winter phase of the weasels themselves.
Purdey, D.C.; King, C.M.; Lawrence, B. Age structure, dispersion and diet of a population of stoats (Mustelaerminea) in southern Fiordland during the decline phase of the beechmast cycle.
King, C.M, Davis, S.A., Purdey, D.C., Lawrence, B. Capture probability and heterogeneity of trap response in stoats, Mustelaerminea.
King, C.M. Cohort variation in the life-history parameters of stoats Mustelaerminea in relation to fluctuating food resources: a challenge to boreal ecologists.
Least WeaselMustela nivalis Occupying most of Canada with the exception of the Maritimes, southern Ontario, and Quebec, this fierce little carnivore is scarcely larger than the mice on which it preys.
Black Footed Ferret Mustela nigripes The fl-footed ferret was once considered the most endangered mammal in the United States, but recently much progress has been made toward its recovery.
This page is here to provide a bit of information about Mustelaerminea and its relatives to people who typed "ermine" into a search engine and landed here.
McDonald and S. Larivière (2001) The diseases and pathogens of Mustela spp., with special reference to the biological control of introduced stoat Mustelaerminea populations in New Zealand.
McDonald and S. Harris (1999) The use of trapping records to monitor populations of stoats Mustelaerminea and weasels Mustela nivalis: the importance of trapping effort.
McDonald, S. Harris, M. Fletcher, P. Brown and G. Turnbull (1998) Anticoagulant rodenticides in stoats (Mustelaerminea) and weasels (Mustela nivalis) in England.
McDonald, R.A.; Harris, S. 1999: The use of trapping records to monitor populations of stoats Mustelaerminea and weasels Mustela nivalis: the importance of trapping effort.
McDonald, R.A.; Larivière, S. 2001: The diseases and pathogens of Mustela spp., with special reference to the biological control of introduced stoat Mustelaerminea populations in New Zealand.
The population biology of stoats Mustelaerminea and weasels Mustela nivalis on game estates in Great Britain.
Puttenham, R. Population fluctuations in Mink (Mustela vison), with comparisons to Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) and Ermine (Mustelaerminea) in Southeastern Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.
Manitoba Department of Natural Resources fur harvest records were examined to determine if the provincial populations of mink (Mustela vison), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), and ermine (Mustelaerminea) exhibit any periodicity.
The above fur return data were analyzed using an autocorrelation formula.
McDonald, R.A., Harris, S., Turnbull, G., Brown, P. and Fletcher, M. (1998) Anticoagulant rodenticides in stoats (Mustelaerminea) and weasels (Mustela nivalis) in England.
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Stoat (Mustela erminea)(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-24)
It has also been introduced to various islands in the hope that it will control populations of pest rodents.
Both weasels (Mustela nivalis) and stoats (Mustelaerminea) were deliberately introduced into New Zealand from Britain during the 1880s to control rabbits, which were becoming a serious agricultural pest.
Mustelids continued to enjoy legal protection in New Zealand until 1936.
