Amazon weasel

Amazon weasel
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Subfamily:	Mustelinae
Genus:	Mustela
Species:	M. africana
Binomial name
Mustela africana Desmarest, 1818
Amazon weasel range

The Amazon weasel (Mustela africana), also known as the tropical weasel, is a species of weasel that lives in the Amazon Rainforest in South America. It is rated "Least Concern" by the IUCN Red List. Despite its scientific name, it is not found in Africa. It is a shiny brown weasel with a white or cream belly with a brown stripe down the chest. The Amazon weasel measures 9.8 to 15 inches (25-38 cm.) in length. It has a tail length of 3.9-7.9 inches (10-20 cm). The Amazon weasel is rarely seen and little is known about it. Amazon weasels eat rodents and other small mammals. They make their homes in the stumps of hollow trees.

There are two subspecies of the Amazon weasel:

Mustela africana africana

Mustela africana stolzmanni

References

• Emmons, L. & Helgen, K. (2008). Mustela africana. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 6 March 2009.
• Emmons, L.H. (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, 2nd ed. University of Chicago Press ISBN 0-226-20721-8