2025年1月15日 · ermine, (Mustela erminea), northern weasel species in the genus Mustela, family Mustelidae. The species is called ermine especially during its winter white colour phase. The animal ’s pelt was used historically in royal robes in Europe, and the term ermine also refers to the animal’s white coat, sold in the fur trade.

The stoat is the product of a process that began 5–7 million years ago, when northern forests were replaced by open grassland, thus prompting an explosive evolution of small, burrowing rodents. The stoat's ancestors were larger than the current form, and underwent a reduction in size as they exploited the new food source.

In its northern range, the ermine adopts a completely white coat (save for the black tail-tip) during the winter period. Differences in the winter and summer coats are less apparent in the southern forms of the species.

Ermine have a typical weasel form with long body, short legs, long neck supporting a triangular head, slightly protruding round ears, and long whiskers. Their pelage is reddish-brown above and creamy white below in summer, and changes to completely white in winter with the tip of the tail remaining black in all seasons.

2025年1月7日 · There are many all-white rats in the world, but unless they have pink eyes, they’re not true albinos. Those rats are simply considered “light-colored fancy rats,” which seems to be both a compliment and a put-down at the same time.

2021年4月4日 · They look nearly identical, with both species having reddish-brown fur on top of a white underbelly in the summer and stark white fur in the winter. They make this change so they can disappear in the snow, which makes it much easier to both hunt prey and avoid predators.

2018年12月14日 · The stoat is an effective predator of small mammals, specializing in rodents and lagomorphs (hares, rabbits and pikas). Occasionally (or when its preferred prey is not available) the stoat will also feed on birds, eggs, earthworms, …

2016年12月16日 · The ermine lives throughout the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere. To the monarchs of medieval Europe, the ermine’s white coat symbolized royalty and high status. This is the fur that adorns the cartoon version of a queen, her …

2023年1月3日 · If it’s white and looks like a weasel, it’s almost sure to be an ermine or long-tailed weasel. The ermine is one of three species of weasels in New Hampshire that includes long-tailed weasels, and pine marten.

2012年4月6日 · At first glance, an ermine is a cute, tiny weasel-like creature that pads lightly on the snow. “It’s that mysterious little creature running across a ski trail or road,” U.S. Forest Service...