Editing Stoat (section)

== Taxonomy ==
Formerly considered a single species with a very wide circumpolar range, a 2021 study split ''M. erminea'' into three species: ''M. erminea [[sensu stricto]]'' (Eurasia and northern North America), ''[[Mustela richardsonii|M. richardsonii]]'' (most of North America), and ''[[Haida ermine|M. haidarum]]'' (several islands off the [[Pacific Northwest]] coast).<ref name=Colella_al2021>{{Cite journal|last1=Colella|first1=Jocelyn P. |last2=Frederick |first2=Lindsey M. |last3=Talbot|first3=Sandra L.|last4=Cook|first4=Joseph A. |date=2021|title=Extrinsically reinforced hybrid speciation within Holarctic ermine (''Mustela'' spp.) produces an insular endemic |journal=Diversity and Distributions |volume=27|issue=4|pages=747–762 |doi=10.1111/ddi.13234 |s2cid=234059194 |doi-access=|bibcode=2021DivDi..27..747C }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=Melissa A.|last2=Cook|first2=Joseph A. |date=2002|title=Phylogeography of endemic ermine (''Mustela erminea'') in southeast Alaska |doi=10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01472.x |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=11|issue=4|pages=795–807 |pmid=11972765|bibcode=2002MolEc..11..795F |s2cid=18874091}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Explore the Database|url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1005863|access-date=2021-07-12|website=www.mammaldiversity.org|archive-date=2020-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028140029/https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1005863|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Subspecies===
{{As of|2021}}, 21 [[subspecies]] are recognized.<ref name=Colella_al2021/>
{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|- style="background:#115a6c;"
!Subspecies
!Trinomial authority
!Description
!Range
!Synonyms
|-
|Northern stoat ''M. e. erminea''
([[Nominate subspecies]])
|Linnaeus, 1758
|A small-to-medium-sized subspecies with a relatively short and broad facial region<ref name="s1010">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|p=1010}}</ref>
|The [[Kola Peninsula]], [[Scandinavia]]
|<small>''hyberna'' (Kerr, 1792)</small><br />
<small>''maculata'' (Billberg, 1827)</small><br />
|-
|Middle Russian stoat<br />''M. e. aestiva''
[[File:Mustela.erminea.jpg|150 px]]
|Kerr, 1792
|A moderately sized subspecies with dark, tawny or chestnut summer fur<ref name="s1010"/>
|[[European Russia]] (except for the Kola Peninsula), [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Western Europe]]
|<small>''algiricus'' (Thomas, 1895)</small><br />
<small>''alpestris'' (Burg, 1920)</small><br />
<small>''giganteus'' (Burg, 1920)</small><br />
<small>''major'' (Nilsson, 1820)</small>
|-
|Tundra stoat ''M. e. arctica''
[[File:Mustelaerminaarcticaskull.png|150 px]]
|Merriam, 1826
|A large subspecies, with a dark yellowish-brown summer coat, a deep yellow underbelly and a massive skull; it resembles the Eurasian stoat subspecies more closely than any other American stoat subspecies<ref name="m15">{{Harvnb|Merriam|1896|p=15}}</ref>
|[[Alaska]], northwestern Canada, and the [[Arctic Archipelago]] (except for [[Baffin Island]])
|<small>''audax'' (Barrett-Hamilton, 1904)</small><br />
<small>''kadiacensis'' (Merriam, 1896)</small><br />
<small>''kadiacensis'' (Osgood, 1901)</small><br />
<small>''richardsonii'' (Bonaparte, 1838)</small><br />
|-
|''M. e. augustidens''
|Brown, 1908
|
|
|
|-
|Fergana stoat ''M. e. ferghanae''
|Thomas, 1895
|A small subspecies; it has a very light, straw-brownish or greyish coat, which is short and soft. Light spots, sometimes forming a collar, are present on the neck. It does not turn white in winter.<ref name="s1014">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|p=1014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Kotia, A. |author2=Angmo, K. |author3=Bharti, R. R. |author4=Adhikari, B. S. |author5=Rawat, G. S. |date=2011 |title=A record of the little-known Stoat ''Mustela erminea ferghanae'' from Ladakh, India |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |volume=44 |pages=42–43 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Himalayan-race-of-Stoat-Mustela-erminea-ferghanae-with-prey-10-July-2010-Zanskar_fig1_270339150 |access-date=2023-01-19 |archive-date=2023-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119115659/https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Himalayan-race-of-Stoat-Mustela-erminea-ferghanae-with-prey-10-July-2010-Zanskar_fig1_270339150 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|[[Tien Shan]] and [[Pamir-Alay]] mountains, Afghanistan, India, western Tibet and the adjacent parts of the Tien Shan in China
|<small>''shnitnikovi'' (Ognev, 1935)</small><br/>
<small>''whiteheadi'' (Wroughton, 1908)</small>
|-
|Irish stoat ''M. e. hibernica''
[[File:Mustela erminea hibernica.jpg|150 px]]
|Thomas and Barrett-Hamilton, 1895
|Larger than ''aestiva'', but smaller than ''stabilis''. It is distinguished by the irregular pattern on the dividing line between the dark and pale fur on the flanks, though 13.5% of Irish stoats exhibit the more typical straight dividing line.<ref name="h459">{{Harvnb|Harris|Yalden|2008|p=459}}</ref>
|Ireland and the [[Isle of Man]]
|
|-
|Kodiak stoat ''M. e. kadiacensis''
|Merriam, 1896
|
|[[Kodiak Island]]
|
|-
|East Siberian stoat (known locally as Ezo stoat in Japan)<br />''M. e. kaneii''
|Baird, 1857
|A moderately sized subspecies. It is smaller than ''M. e. tobolica'', with close similarities to ''M. e. arctica''. The colour of the summer coat is relatively light, with varying intensities of browning-yellow tinges.<ref name="s1012"/>
|Eastern [[Siberia]] and the [[Russian Far East]] including [[Kamchatka]], except the [[Amur Oblast]] and [[Ussuriland]], [[Transbaikalia]] and the [[Sayan Mountains]]. Also in [[Hokkaidō]].
|<small>''baturini'' (Ognev, 1929)</small><br/>
<small>''digna'' (Hall, 1944)</small><br/>
<small>''kamtschatica'' (Dybowski, 1922)</small><br/>
<small>''kanei'' (G. Allen, 1914)</small><br/>
<small>''naumovi'' (Jurgenson, 1938)</small><br/>
<small>''orientalis'' (Ognev, 1928)</small><br/>
<small>''transbaikalica'' (Ognev, 1928)</small>
|-
|Karaginsky stoat ''M. e. karaginensis''
|Jurgenson, 1936
|A very small subspecies with a light chestnut-coloured summer coat<ref name="s1013">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|p=1013}}</ref>
|[[Karaginsky Island]], along the eastern coast of Kamchatka
|
|-
|Altai stoat ''Mustela e. lymani''
|Hollister, 1912
|A moderately sized subspecies with less dense fur than ''M. e. tobolica''. The colour of its summer coat consists of weakly developed reddish-brown tones. The skull is similar to that of ''M. e. aestiva''.<ref name="s1012">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|p=1012}}</ref>
|The mountains of southern Siberia eastwards to [[Lake Baikal|Baikal]] and the contiguous parts of Mongolia
|
|-
|''M. e. martinoi''
|Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951
|
|
|<small>''birulai'' (Martino and Martino, 1930)</small><br />
|-
|Swiss stoat<br />''M. e. minima''
|Cavazza, 1912
|
|Switzerland
|
|-
|Gobi stoat
''M. e. mongolica''
|Ognev, 1928
|
|The [[Govi-Altai Province]]
|
|-
|Japanese stoat ''M. e. nippon''
[[File:Mustela erminea in summer.jpg|150 px]]
|Cabrera, 1913
|
|northern [[Honshū]]
|
|-
|
''M. e. ognevi''
|Jurgenson, 1932
|
|
|
|-
|Polar stoat ''M. e. polaris''
|Barrett-Hamilton, 1904
|
|[[Greenland]]
|
|-
|Hebrides stoat ''M. e. ricinae''
|Miller, 1907
|
|The [[Hebrides]]
|
|-
|''M. e. salva''
|Hall, 1944
|
|
|
|-
|British stoat ''M. e. stabilis''
[[File:Mustela Erminea head.jpg|150 px]]
|Barrett-Hamilton, 1904
|Larger than mainland European stoats<ref name="h459"/>
|Great Britain; introduced to New Zealand
|
|-
|Caucasian stoat ''M. e. teberdina''
|Korneev, 1941
|A small subspecies with a coffee to reddish-tawny summer coat<ref name="s1010"/>
|The northern slope of the middle part of the main [[Caucasus]] range
|<small>''balkarica'' (Basiev, 1962)</small>
|-
|Tobolsk stoat ''M. e. tobolica''
|Ognev, 1923
|A large subspecies; it is somewhat larger than ''aestiva'', with long and dense fur.<ref name="s1011">{{Harvnb|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|p=1011}}</ref>
|Western Siberia, eastwards to the [[Yenisei]] and [[Altai Mountains]] and in [[Kazakhstan]]
|
|}