Mustela itatsi, Linnaeus, 1758

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Mustelidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 564-656 : 651

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5714044

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5714161

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038F87D4-CA70-FF9F-CFEF-38CDFA54F5B0

treatment provided by

Conny

scientific name

Mustela itatsi
status

 

45. View Plate 36: Mustelidae

Japanese Weasel

Mustela itatsi View in CoL

French: Putois du Japon / German: Japan-Wiesel / Spanish: Comadreja japonesa

Taxonomy. Mustela itatsi Temminck, 1844 View in CoL ,

Japan.

The Japanese Weasel was previously considered a subspecies of the Siberian Weasel. Monotypic.

Distribution. Japan. Introduced to Hokkaido and Russia (S Sakhalin). View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 28-39 cm (males), 25-30- 56 cm (females); tail 15- 5— 21 cm (males), 13: 3-16.4 cm (females); weight 660-820 g (males), 360-430 g (females), adult males are almost twice the weight of females. The Japanese Weasel has a long, slender body and short limbs. The pelage is dark brown in summer, and becomes paler, almost yellowish brown in winter. The upper lips and chin are white.

Habitat. Forests. Often found in close proximity to water and sometimes near human dwellings.

Food and Feeding. The diet includes insects, reptiles, and small mammals. In Hamura, Japanese Weasels eat rodents, fish, arthropods, and crustaceans throughout the year; seasonal changes in the diet are small. In Tachikawa, the main food items are rodents and fruits in winter and spring, and arthropods and crustaceans in summer and autumn. On Zamami Island, where Japanese Weasels were introduced in 1957 and 1958, they eat a wide variety of prey, mainly insects, followed by reptiles and small mammals.

Activity patterns. Nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Solitary.

Breeding. Mating occurs in late winter and births occur in the spring.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. The Japanese Weasel is considered common throughout its range. This species has been introduced to certain areas to control reptiles and rats. Very little is known about Japanese Weasels and field studies are needed to learn more about their natural history, ecology, and conservation status.

Bibliography. Fujii et al. (1998), Keishi et al. (2002), Okada et al. (2007), Sekiguchi et al. (2002), Wozencraft (2005).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Mustelidae

Genus

Mustela

Loc

Mustela itatsi

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier 2009
2009
Loc

Mustela itatsi

Temminck 1844
1844
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