The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Small Carnivores

Lyncodon


Patagonian Weasel (L. patagonicus)

The range of this species extends throughout the Pampas of western Argentina into the southern tip of Chile.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.
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Vormela


Marbled Polecat (V. peregusna)

The range of this species extends from southeastern Europe in the west through Asia Minor and the Middle East to Central Asia, Siberia and north-central China in the east.

Six subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

V. p. peregusna - photo by @MagpieGoose



V. p. alpherakii
V. p. euxina
V. p. negans
V. p. pallidor - photo by @TeaLovingDave



V. p. syriaca - photo by @gentle lemur

 

Ictonyx


Saharan Striped Weasel (I. libycus)

The range of this species extends around the northern, southern and western margins of the Sahara, as far north as the Nile Valley in Egypt and as far south as Djibouti and South Sudan.

Four subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

I. l. libycus - photo by @Giant Eland



I. l. multivittata
I. l. oralis
I. l. rothschildi


Zorilla (I. striatus)

The range of this species extends throughout Central, Southern, and sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the Congo basin and coastal West Africa.

Currently regarded as monotypic, although several subspecies have been recognised in the past and HMW indicates that further work is required to determine which are valid.

Animals recently imported into European and North American private and public holdings differ significantly in size and appearance to the "usual" depiction of the species in wildlife photography and those populations formerly held in captivity in the mid-2000s, and are likely to represent a distinct taxon. As such, images depicting both captive populations follow.

Photo by @Giant Eland



Photo by @Giant Eland



Photo by @Tomek



Photo by @ThylacineAlive

 

Poecilogale


African Striped Weasel (P. albinucha)

The range of this species extends throughout southern Africa, from Democratic Republic of the Congo across to Kenya in the north, to the southernmost extent of South Africa.

Currently regarded as monotypic.

Photo by @Giant Eland

 

MUSTELINAE


This lineage comprises two genera, as follows:

Neogale - New World Weasels (4 species)

Mustela - Old World Weasels (16 species)
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Neogale


American Mink (N. vison)

The native range of this species extends throughout North America from Alaska and Canada into the United States, as far south as Florida and east Texas in the east, and northern California in the west. Introduced populations are found throughout Europe, Russia and the Caucasus.

Fifteen subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

N. v. vison - photo by @Giant Eland



N. v. aestuarina
N. v. aniakensis
N. v. energumenos - photo by @Ituri



N. v. evagor
N. v. evergladensis
N. v. ingens
N. v. lacustris
N. v. letifera - photo by @CheeseChameleon1945



N. v. lowii - photo by @Great Argus



N. v. lutensis
N. v. melampeplus
N. v. mink
N. v. nesolestes
N. v. vulgivala


Amazon Weasel (Neogale africana)

The range of this species extends throughout the Amazon basin in northern Brazil and eastern Peru and Ecuador.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Colombian Weasel (Neogale felipei)

The range of this species is restricted to the northern Andes of Colombia and Ecuador.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Long-tailed Weasel (Neogale frenata)

The range of this species extends from southern Canada throughout the entirety of the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central America and into northern South America as far as the Bolivian Andes.

Forty-two subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

N. f. frenata
N. f. affinis
N. f. agilis
N. f. alleni
N. f. altifrontalis
N. f. arizonensis
N. f. arthuri
N. f. aureoventris
N. f. boliviensis
N. f. costaricensis
N. f. effera
N. f. goldmani
N. f. helleri
N. f. inyoensis
N. f. latirostra - photo by @alexkant



N. f. leucoparia
N. f. longicauda
N. f. macrophonius
N. f. macrura
N. f. meridana
N. f. munda
N. f. neomexicana
N. f. nevadensis
N. f. nicaraguae
N. f. nigriauris
N. f. noveboracensis
N. f. occisor
N. f. olivacea
N. f. oregonensis
N. f. oribasus
N. f. panamensis
N. f. peninsulae
N. f. perda
N. f. perotae
N. f. primulina
N. f. pulchra
N. f. saturata - photo by @Great Argus



N. f. spadix
N. f. texensis
N. f. tropicalis
N. f. washingtoni
N. f. xanthogenys
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Mustela


Back-striped Weasel (Mustela strigidorsa)

The range of this species extends through northeastern India, into northern and central Myanmar, southern China and northern Indochina.

Monotypic, no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Malay Weasel (Mustela nudipes)

The range of this species extends throughout Sumatra and Borneo and the southern half of the Malay Peninsula.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Indonesian Mountain Weasel (Mustela lutreolina)

The range of this species is restricted to mountainous regions of Java and Sumatra.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Yellow-bellied Weasel (Mustela kathiah)

The range of this species extends from the Indian Himalaya to southeast China and eastern Indochina.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Eurasian Ermine (Mustela erminea)

The range of this species extends throughout Eurasia, as far south as the northern Iberian peninsula and Balkans in Europe, and Kashmir, northern China and Mongolia in Asia, and into Alaska, Arctic Canada and Greenland in North America.

Eighteen subspecies are currently recognised as follows:

M. e. erminea
M. e. aestiva - photo by @Maguari



M. e. arctica - photo by @Pleistohorse



M. e. ferghanae
M. e. hibernica
M. e. kadiacensis
M. e. kaneii
M. e. karaginensis
M. e. lymani
M. e. minima
M. e. mongolica - photo by @carl the birder



M. e. nippon
M. e. polaris
M. e. ricinae
M. e. salva
M. e. stabilis - photo by @littleRedPanda



M. e. teberdina
M. e. tobolica


American Ermine (Mustela richardsonii)

The range of this species extends throughout much of North America, extending as far south as northern California, New Mexico and northern Virginia; absent from Arctic Canada, Greenland and much of Alaska.

Thirteen subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. r. alascensis
M. r. anguinae
M. r. bangsi
M. r. cigognanii
M. r. fallenda
M. r. gulosa
M. r. initis
M. r. invicta
M. r. muricus
M. r. olympica
M. r. richardsonii - photo by @Ituri



M. r. semplei
M. r. stratori


Haida Ermine (Mustela haidarum)

Endemic to the Haida Gwaii archipelago of northwestern Canada and adjacent offshore islands of southeast Alaska.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. h. haidarum
M. h. celenda
M. h. seclusa

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis)

The native range of this species is Holarctic, encompassing much of Europe and North Africa, Asia and parts of northern North America. Introduced populations are present in many of the Mediterranean islands, New Zealand and the Azores.

Thirteen subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. n. nivalis - photo by @carl the birder



M. n. allegheniensis
M. n. boccamela
M. n. campestris
M. n. eskimo
M. n. formosana
M. n. namiyeyi
M. n. numidica
M. n. rixosa
M. n. russelliana
M. n. subpalmata - photo by @devilfish



M. n. tonkiniensis
M. n. vulgaris - photo by @ro6ca66




Mountain Weasel (Mustela altaica)

The range of this species extends through central and east Asia, with a range comprising from Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the west, through northern India, Nepal and Bhutan to Mongolia, China and the south of Russia in the east.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Chlidonias




Japanese Weasel (Mustela itatsi)

The range of this species extends throughout Japan, with those populations in Hokkaido representing human introductions, along with an introduced population on the Russian island of Sakhalin.

Monotypic.

Photo by @devilfish




Siberian Weasel (Mustela sibirica)

The range of this species extends throughout northern Asia from the Ural Mountains in the west through Siberia to the Russian Far East, and in the east extends south through China into the Himalayas and northern Indochina.

Currently regarded as monotypic, although taxonomic analysis is required.

Photo by @Therabu




European Mink (Mustela lutreola)

The range of this species was once widespread through Europe and the Caucasus; however, due to extensive extirpation it is now restricted to relict populations in the western Pyrenees, the Baltic States, eastern Europe and central European Russia.

Currently regarded as monotypic.

Photo by @Therabu




Steppe Polecat (Mustela eversmannii)

The range of this species extends from central and eastern Europe in the west, through the Caucasus and Central Asia to Mongolia and northwest China in the east.

Currently regarded as monotypic, although taxonomic analysis is required.

Photo by @Giant Eland




European Polecat (Mustela putorius)

The range of this species extends throughout much of Europe as far east as the Ural Mountains and into North Africa, but is absent from the Balkans and northern Scandinavia.

Currently regarded as monotypic, although taxonomic analysis is required.

Photo by @ro6ca66




Domestic Ferret (Mustela furo)

Likely derived from North African lineages of European Polecat, potentially with some input from Steppe Polecat; feral populations exist worldwide, particularly in New Zealand and in Europe, where they occasionally interbreed with the native polecat populations.

Monotypic.

Photo by @MagpieGoose




Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)

The range of this species was once widespread throughout central North America, from Alberta in the north to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in the south; however, due to near-complete extirpation of the species it now comprises four viable re-introduced populations in South Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona along with a handful of non-viable or developing populations elsewhere in the United States.

Photo by @Giant Eland

 

Because I forgot I'll edit my post to fix that eventually, once I have finished the posts I am working on.

 

LUTRINAE


This lineage comprises 7 genera, as follows:

Pteronura - Giant Otter (monotypic)

Lontra - New World Otters (4 species)

Enhydra - Sea Otter (monotypic)

Hydrictis - Spot-necked Otter (monotypic)

Lutra - Eurasian Otters (2 species)

Aonyx - Clawless Otters (3 species)

Lutrogale - Smooth-coated Otter (monotypic)
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Pteronura


Giant Otter (P. brasiliensis)

The range of this species extends throughout north-central South America, from the Guyanas and south Colombia in the north to central Brazil and northern Paraguay in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @gulogulogulo

 

Lontra


North American River Otter (L. canadensis)

The range of this species extends throughout Canada and Alaska, along with the eastern and western coastal regions of the United States.

Seven subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

L. c. canadensis - photo by @jayjds2



L. c. kodiacensis - photo by @Pleistohorse



L. c. lataxina - photo by @Ituri



L. c. mira
L. c. pacifica - photo by @Ituri



L. c. periclyzomae
L. c. sonora


Neotropical Otter (L. longicaudis)

The range of this species extends throughout Central and South America, from northwest Mexico in the north to central Argentina in the south.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

L. l. longicaudis - photo by @devilfish



L. l. annectens - photo by @Giant Eland



L. l. enudris


Southern River Otter (L. provocax)

The range of this species extends throughout the south of Chile and Argentina.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Marine Otter (L. felina)

The range of this species extends along the majority of the western coastline of South America, from Peru in the north, along the entire coast of Chile, to the southern tip of Argentina in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @devilfish

 

Enhydra


Sea Otter (E. lutris)

The range of this species comprises an arc across the North Pacific stretching from northern Japan to Baja California in Mexico.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

E. l. lutris
E. l. kenyoni - photo by @geomorph



E. l. nereis - photo by @Zoological Point

 

Hydrictis


Spotted-necked Otter (H. maculicollis)

The range of this species extends across much of West and Central Africa, with a disjunct population in eastern South Africa.

Monotypic.

Photo by @NigeW

 

Lutra


Eurasian Otter (L. lutra)

The range of this species extends throughout Europe in the west, across much of Central Asia and the Middle East, into China, Indochina and Indonesia in the east.

Currently regarded as monotypic, although several possible subspecies have been described and one - the probably-extinct nippon of Japan - may merit species status. Further taxonomic analysis is required.

Photo by @LaughingDove




Hairy-nosed Otter (L. sumatrana)

The range of this species extends across Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia in patchily-scattered populations, with populations in the north of this range likely extirpated or nearly so.

Monotypic.

Photo by @devilfish

 

Aonyx


Cape Clawless Otter (A. capensis)

The range of this species extends throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, except for the Congo River basin and arid areas.

Monotypoic.

Photo by @devilfish




Congo Clawless Otter (A. congicus)

The range of this species extends throughout the rainforests of the Congo River basin.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Oriental Small-clawed Otter (A. cinerea)

The range of this species extends throughout coastal regions of south Asia from southern India in the west to Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

A. c. cinerea
A. c. concolor
A. c. nirnai

Photo by @demonmoth

 

Lutrogale


Smooth-coated Otter (L. perspicillata)

The contiguous range of this population extends from the Indian subcontinent in the west to Indochina and Indonesia in the east, with a disjunct population also present in Iraq.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

L. p. perspicillata - photo by @Tomek



P. l. maxwelli
P. l. sindica - photo by @J I N X