Musteloidea: A Super Family of Adorable Carnivores

Mustelidae contains eight subfamilies and roughly 60 species including weasels, martens, otters, badgers and the wolverine. It is the largest family within the order carnivora and is part of Musteloidea, a super family of weasels, which sounds awesome, that also contains the red panda, raccoons and skunks. Interestingly this super family is most closely related to seals, then bears and then dogs. In this guide we'll explore each subfamily, where they're located and the species found therein. Let's dive in. In addition to being one of the most charming animals on the planet, the stoat, otherwise known as the short-tailed weasel or the Eurasian ermine is the root of this entire subfamily, otherwise known as the type species. It is part of the type genus, Mustela, after which the naming of the containing taxonomic ranks is based. Mustela is the largest genus in the entire superfamily, containing 16 species, all of which are generally referred to as weasels, but also includes polecats, stoats, ferrets and mink. Weighing just 30 to 100 grams, the smallest of this genus is the least weasel. Referred to as the common weasel, these tiny creatures are also the smallest mustelid and the smallest carnivore. They have a very similar range to the stoat, being found throughout much of the northern hemisphere as far south as northern Africa and central China. The least weasel personifies a mustelid, with a long slender body and relatively short legs. In the northern parts of their range, their coat turns pure white in the winter to adapt to their snowy environment. This colour change happens due to a hormonal reaction in response to a reduction in daylight hours and also occurs in other animals such as the ptarmigan and the snowshoe hare. Other species in the genus include the steep polecat, the European mink and the black-footed ferret. Lutrine is the second largest subfamily, containing 13 species. Its members are referred to as otters and are the closest relatives to the weasels in Mustelinae. Like weasels, otters exhibit long slender bodies and short limbs. They thrive in the water. Most species have webbed feet to aid with swimming and feed mainly on fish and invertebrates. 11 of the species are thought of as semi-aquatic and live in freshwater ecosystems, with the remaining two species of otter being classified as marine. The Eurasian otter, also known as the common otter, has a very large range encompassing almost all of Europe below the tiger belt, parts of the of this genus are much larger than their freshwater cousins. The sea otter is the largest mustelid, weighing up to 100 pounds and measuring up to 5 feet long. They are well known for floating on their backs, which they do for several reasons. Sea otters will adopt this position to sleep or rest, in addition to using their bellies as a surface to pry open crustaceans and other animals they consume. Another interesting species is the giant otter, found in South America. Although they can be similar in length to sea otters, they are roughly half the weight, weighing up to around 50 pounds. Ictonicinae is a smaller subfamily and contains some of the lesser known but no less incredible species, including the marbled polecat and two species of grisson. The marbled polecat is found on the steeps and arid areas of Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Like all mustelids, this colourful creature has well-developed scent glands that allow it to emit a pungent aroma which is used for marking territory and as a defence mechanism. They exhibit a very unique colouration with a white and black striped face and a blotchy yellow body. The grisson genus contains two species which are known as South American wolverines. The greater grisson is found throughout Central America and the northern half of South America and the lesser grisson which is found at the southern end of the continent. Both species have a dark face and belly and a lighter coloured back with the lesser grisson exhibiting a more sandy yellow colour. Gouloninae contains eight species of marten which look very similar to weasels, in addition to the gigantic wolverine and several other unique species including the tyra and the fisher. The wolverine is the largest land-dwelling mustelid and although they are still relatively small in comparison to their prey, they have been known to take down large ungulates five times their size including reindeer, wild sheep and even moose. They do this by trapping their prey in the snow, where being much larger the ungulates become stuck and are no match for the lighter more aggressive wolverine. The eight species of marten are all contained within the martes genus. Their combined range spans much of the northern hemisphere and stretches into Southeast Asia where a particularly colourful species exist. The yellow-throated marten unsurprisingly displays a yellow throat with a beautiful gradient that turns into a dark brown or black towards their hind legs and tail. Like many mustelids these cute looking carnivores will take on much larger prey and have been known to bring down the fawns of large ungulates such as elk, which they do so in groups. Helictodinae contains a single genus and six species of ferret badger and figuratively speaking bridges the gap nicely between the weasel-like mustelids of the previous chapters and the badger-like mustelids of the next. Collectively they are found in China and Southeast Asia. The species of Malinae are split between two genera which can be termed generally as badgers and hog badgers. Regular badgers have a gigantic range being found throughout most of Eurasia whereas hog badgers are located solely in East and Southeast Asia. Weighing up to a burly 16.683 kilograms the European badger is the United Kingdom's largest land predator. These intimidating creatures are known to single-handedly take down entire groups of earthworms, their primary prey which they dig ferociously for. Badgers are highly social by nature which is unusual for mustelids and live in groups that usually number around six but can surpass 20. They live in underground burrow systems called sets and are nocturnal or crespular being active at dusk or dawn. The Japanese badger is slightly smaller and exhibits a lighter coat. Hog badgers are also similar but have elongated snouts and lighter claws. Melivorinae contains a single species the honey badger also known as the rattle. They have a large range being found throughout much of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia and a small region east of the Black Sea. Although they are named so for their love of honey and bee larvae they are voracious predators and most of their diet is made up of small mammals or snakes depending on the season. Specifically they are known to take on highly venomous snakes such as cape cobras and horned adders. Honey badgers are able to prey on these deadly reptiles having evolved to develop a resistance to the toxicity of their venom. This is similar to a mongoose who also eat snakes and look like a mustelid but are not part of this family. The American badger is also contained within its own monotypic genus Taxoninae. In terms of its evolutionary path this species and genus are the most basal, a term referring to the proximity to the root of the family. Mustelids are thought to have split from the members of Procyonidae around 29 million years ago with the rest of Mustelidae splitting from the American badger around 18 million years ago. Like the European badger this species has a white line extending from their back onto their face although this is much less pronounced on the American badger. These mustelids are fossorial predators those adapted to digging and prey mostly upon rodents such as gophers, prairie dogs, kangaroo rats and pika. The American badger usually mates in the summer or early fall but won't give birth until around March or April. Their young are called cubs and usually stay with their mother until around five to six months old. The closest relatives to the mustelids are the members of Procyonidae, a family that contains five genera and 13 species such as the kinkajou, raccoons, olingos and coatis. Like the honey badger the kinkajou is also known to raid the nests of bees and is sometimes referred to as the honey bear. They are found in the tropical forests of Central and South America where they feast mainly on fruit but being carnivores will also eat small mammals. Raccoons are omnivores and although they will eat both plant matter and animals such as invertebrates have an unfortunate although well-deserved reputation for pinching our trash. These masked bandits weigh no more than around 23 pounds and have dark patches surrounding their eyes similar to that of their raccoon dog although they are not related. There are four species of olingo which look very similar to the kinkajou. They are arboreal and nocturnal and also live in the tropical forests of Central and South America and have a similar range to the coati who are the last member of this family that we'll discuss. There are four species of coati with the white nose coati who live mainly on the North American continent and the South American coati being the most common. In addition to both tropical and temperate forest coatis are found in grassland and more arid ecosystems. The next most distant relatives to the mustelids are contained within the aloridae family which features only one extant genus and two species most commonly referred to as red pandas. These creatures who are said to resemble bears weigh no more than 14 pounds and have a very unique appearance sporting a black belly and legs and a majestic dark red back and face with white highlights. The red panda is found throughout the Himalayas and South Central China where they live a mostly arboreal and solitary existence. Although they are contained within the same clade they are not closely related to the giant panda rather their name derives from the Nepali word nigalya ponya which means eater of bamboo. Commonly referred to as stink badgers skunks are members of the mephatidae family which contains four genera and 12 species. They are found in three general areas. Spotted skunks are found on the North American continent along with striped and hooded skunks. Hognose skunks are also found in North America but also South America. Stink badgers are found on the other side of the world most commonly on the islands of Spotted skunks display a very interesting fur pattern that can sometimes look like stripes but differ considerably from striped skunks whose stripes are much more clearly defined. This family is perhaps most famous for their scent glands which are used to deter predators. These glands are much more developed than the members of mustelidae and it is thought that the reason that the stripes of the skunk terminate on either side of the tail is to warn predators of the glands which are positioned on either side of the anus. Thank you so much for watching. If you'd like to learn more about carnivores check out this playlist and if you'd like to learn about ungulates click here.