Mustelinae is a subfamily of family Mustelidae, including weasels, ferrets, and minks.
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It was formerly defined in a paraphyletic manner to also include wolverines, martens, and many other mustelids, to the exclusion of the otters (Lutrinae).
Extant species of Mustelinae Subfamily Mustelinae
Image Genus Living species Mustela (weasels, ferrets, European mink and stoats) Mountain weasel, Mustela altaica Stoat or ermine, Mustela erminea Steppe polecat, Mustela eversmannii Domestic ferret, Mustela furo Haida ermine, Mustela haidarum Japanese weasel, Mustela itatsi Yellow-bellied weasel, Mustela kathiah European mink, Mustela lutreola Indonesian mountain weasel, Mustela lutreolina Mustela mopbie Black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes Least weasel, Mustela nivalis Malayan weasel, Mustela nudipes European polecat, Mustela putorius American ermine, Mustela richardsonii Siberian weasel, Mustela sibirica Back-striped weasel, Mustela strigidorsa Neogale (New World weasels and mink) Amazon weasel, Neogale africana Colombian weasel, Neogale felipei Long-tailed weasel, Neogale frenata American mink, Neogale vison The sea mink (Neogale macrodon) is a recently extinct species from the 19th century that was native to the Maritime Provinces of Canada and New England in the United States.
Importance for humans The furs of several members of this subfamily, including weasel, ermine, mink, and polecat, are used in fashion.
Domestic ferrets are fairly common pets.
Ferret model of COVID-19
COVID-19 can infect both the European mink (Mustela lutreola) and the American mink (Neogale vison). Ferrets are used to study COVID-19. Ferrets get some of the same symptoms as humans, but they get less sick than farmed mink. Ferrets are a fairly uncommon animal to use as a model, but mice were not an easy model of COVID-19 because mice lack the ACE2 gene.
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Mustelinae