Ermine
Latin: Mustela erminea
Description: Taxidermy Stoat.
The stoat, also known as the short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelidae native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip. The name ermine is often but not always used for the animal in its pure white winter coat. The stoat is the product of a process begun 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 to exploit the new food source. The stoat first arose in Eurasia, shortly after the long-tailed weasel arose as its mirror image in North America 2 million years ago, thriving during the Ice Age as its small size and long body allowed it to easily operate beneath snow, as well as hunt in burrows.