STOAT & WEASEL Mustela erminea & nivalis

PAGE INDEX 1. Lateral view 2. Details

Weasel and stoat skulls can only be reliably separated on size, but the largest male weasels can be larger than the smallest female stoats ! Nevertheless, they are "good species" and their skull lengths rarely overlap in Britain. Any skull less than 38mm overall length is almost certainly a weasel.

1. Weasel skull, lateral view.

Details of Specimens Illustrated

Image 1

Weasel Mustela nivalis

Sex - male

Stage - adult

Date collected - Jan 1995

Area collected - Northumberland

Collection ref. - 95.002

Source - trapped

Measurements

Condylobasal length	40.4mm	Zygomatic width	23.4mm
Jaw length	20.0mm	Interorbital width	8.9mm
Post-orbital constriction	8.9mm

Latin Name : Mustela "a weasel", nivalis "of the snow",erminea from hermine, a French word for a stoat.

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