Mustelinae
Subfamily of carnivores
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mustelinae is a subfamily of family Mustelidae, including weasels, ferrets, and minks.[1][2]
| Mustelinae | |
|---|---|
| |
| American mink | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Mustelinae G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 |
| Genera | |
 | |
| Mustelinae range | |
It was formerly defined in a paraphyletic manner to also include wolverines, martens, and many other mustelids, to the exclusion of the otters (Lutrinae).[3]
Extant species of Mustelinae
Subfamily Mustelinae
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
 | Mustela Linnaeus, 1758 (weasels, ferrets, European mink and stoats) |
|
 | Neogale Gray, 1865 (New World weasels and mink) |
|
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.[5]
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.[6] Ferrets get some of the same symptoms as humans,[7] but they get less sick than farmed mink.[8] 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.[6]
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