Editing Stoat (section)

==Evolution==
The stoat's direct ancestor was ''Mustela palerminea'', a common carnivore in central and eastern Europe during the [[Middle Pleistocene]],<ref name="k101">{{Harvnb|Kurtén|1968|pp=101–102}}</ref> that spread to North America during the late [[Blancan]] or early [[Irvingtonian]].<ref name="k150">{{Harvnb|Kurtén|1980|p=150}}</ref> The stoat is the product of a process that began 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 as they exploited the new food source. The stoat first arose in Eurasia, shortly after the [[long-tailed weasel]], which is in a different genus (''[[Neogale]]''), arose as its mirror image in North America [[Gelasian|2 million years ago]]. The stoat thrived during the [[Last Glacial Period|Ice Age]], as its small size and long body allowed it to easily operate beneath snow, as well as hunt in burrows. The stoat and the long-tailed weasel remained separated until 500,000 years ago, when falling [[sea level]]s exposed the [[Bering land bridge]].<ref name="mac205">{{Harvnb|Macdonald|1992|p=205}}</ref>

[[Fossil|Fossilised]] stoat remains have been recovered from [[Denisova Cave]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Puzachenko |first1=A.Yu. |last2=Titov |first2=V.V. |last3=Kosintsev |first3=P.A. |date=20 December 2021 |title=Evolution of the European regional large mammals assemblages in the end of the Middle Pleistocene – The first half of the Late Pleistocene (MIS 6–MIS 4) |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618220305024 |journal=[[Quaternary International]] |language=en |volume=605-606 |pages=155–191 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2020.08.038 |bibcode=2021QuInt.605..155P |access-date=13 January 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct |archive-date=11 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111103546/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618220305024 |url-status=live }}</ref> Combined [[phylogenetics|phylogenetic]] analyses indicate the stoat's closest living relatives are the [[American ermine]] (''M. richardsonii'') and [[Haida ermine]] (''M. haidarum''), the latter of which partially descends from ''M. erminea''.<ref name=Colella_al2021/> It is basal to most other members of ''Mustela'', with only the [[Yellow-bellied weasel|yellow-bellied]] (''M. kathia''), [[Malayan weasel|Malayan]] (''M. katiah''), and [[Back-striped weasel|back-striped]] (''M. strigidorsa'') weasels being more basal.<ref name="Law-2018">{{Cite journal|last1=Law|first1=C. J.|last2=Slater|first2=G. J.|last3=Mehta|first3=R. S.|date=2018-01-01|title=Lineage Diversity and Size Disparity in Musteloidea: Testing Patterns of Adaptive Radiation Using Molecular and Fossil-Based Methods|journal=Systematic Biology|volume=67|issue=1|pages=127–144|doi=10.1093/sysbio/syx047|pmid=28472434|doi-access=free}}</ref> The [[mountain weasel]] (''Mustela altaica'') was formerly considered its closest relative although more recent analyses have found it to be significantly more derived. It was also previously thought to be allied with members of the genus ''[[Neogale]]'' such as the long-tailed weasel, but as those species have since been separated into a new genus, this is likely not the case.<ref name="h458">{{Harvnb|Harris|Yalden|2008|p=458}}</ref>