Editing Weasel (section)

==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, the genus as a whole, and even to members of the related genus ''[[Neogale]]''. Of the 16 extant species currently classified in the genus ''Mustela'', 10 have "weasel" in their common names. Among those that do not are the three species of ermine,{{refn|group="*"|These three species are ''Mustela erminea'', (the  [[Eurasian ermine]] or stoat); ''M. haidarum'', (the [[Haida ermine]]); and ''M. richardsonii'', (the [[American ermine]]).}} the [[polecat]]s, the [[ferret]], and the [[European mink]].<ref name="NHoWaS"/>{{rp|12}}

The [[American mink]] and the extinct [[sea mink]] were commonly included in this genus as ''Mustela vison'' and ''Mustela macrodon'', respectively, but in 1999 they were moved to the genus ''[[Neovison]]''.<ref>Abramov, A.V. 1999. A taxonomic review of the genus ''Mustela'' (Mammalia, Carnivora). ''Zoosystematica Rossica'', '''8'''(2): 357-364</ref> In 2021, both ''Neovison'' species, along with the [[long-tailed weasel]] (''Mustela frenata''), [[Amazon weasel]] (''Mustela africana'') and [[Colombian weasel]] (''Mustela felipei'') were moved to the genus ''[[Neogale]]'', as the clade containing these five species was found to be fully distinct from ''Mustela''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Patterson|first1=Bruce D.|last2=Ramírez-Chaves|first2=Héctor E.|last3=Vilela|first3=Júlio F.|last4=Soares|first4=André E. R.|last5=Grewe|first5=Felix|year=2021|title=On the nomenclature of the American clade of weasels (Carnivora: Mustelidae)|journal=Journal of Animal Diversity|volume=3|issue=2|pages=1–8 |doi=10.52547/JAD.2021.3.2.1|s2cid=236299740 |issn=2676-685X|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Taxonomy ===
The genus name ''Mustela'' comes from the Latin word for weasel combining the words ''mus'' meaning "mouse" and ''telum'' meaning "javelin" for its long body.<ref name="NHoWaS">{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Carolyn M. |last2=Powell |first2=Roger A. |title=The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats: Ecology, Behavior, and Management |date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-804113-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ae9c7GO_cUC |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|3}}