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weasel
A weasel is a mammal of the genus ''Mustela'' of the Mustelidae family. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and minks. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodies and short legs. The Mustelidae family (which also includes badgers, otters, and wolverines) is often referred to as the "weasel family". In the UK, the term "weasel" usually refers to the smallest species ''Mustela nivalis''.
Weasels vary in length from ,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Weasel )〕 females being smaller than the males, and usually have red or brown upper coats and white bellies; some populations of some species moult to a wholly white coat in winter. They have long, slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails may be from long.〔
Weasels feed on small mammals, and have from time to time been considered vermin, since some species took poultry from farms, or rabbits from commercial warrens. They can be found all across the world except for Antarctica, Australia, and neighbouring islands.
==Terminology==
The English word "weasel" was originally applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''). This usage is retained in British English, where the name is also extended to cover several other small species of the genus. However, in technical discourse and in American usage, the term "weasel" can refer to any member of the genus, or to the genus as a whole. Of the 17 extant species currently classified in the genus ''Mustela'', 10 have "weasel" in their common names. Among those that do not are the stoat, the polecats, the ferret, and the European mink. (The superficially similar American mink is now regarded as belonging in another genus, ''Neovison''.)
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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