page_title: List of mammals of New England
section_title: Weasels, minks, martens, fishers, and otters, family Mustelidae
hierarchical_section_title: List of mammals of New England / Carnivores, order Carnivora / Weasels, minks, martens, fishers, and otters, family Mustelidae
context_page_description: There are 7 orders, 17 families, 40 genera, and 60 species represented among the mammals of New England. If extirpated, coastal, introduced, and accidental species are included these numbers increase to 8 orders, 26 families, 67 genera, and 105 species. The region includes the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
  The makeup and distribution of the mammals in New England are largely the result of the Last Glacial Maximum when the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered virtually the entire region. Recolonization of the area appears to have occurred from one or a few southern glacial refugia. This is in contrast to the multiple glacial refugia present throughout the American West. As a consequence of both the recent uninhabitability and the few sources of recolonization, species diversity for some taxa in parts of New England are lower than in similar areas in other parts of North America. Chipmunks and ground squirrels are exemplars of this situation. New England has one species of each, but numerous locations west of the Rocky Mountains host several species.
  Habitat varies throughout the region.
context_section_description: American marten, Martes americana
  Distribution: Northern Maine, northern New Hampshire, and northeast Vermont. Originally distributed throughout Maine, most of New Hampshire, most of Vermont, central and western Massachusetts, and northern Connecticut.
  Subspecies: Martes americana americana according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998).
  Status: Endangered in Vermont; threatened in New Hampshire.
  Wolverine, Gulo gulo (extirpated)
  Distribution (before extirpation): Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts.
  Subspecies: Gulo gulo according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998).
  Fisher, Martes pennanti
  Distribution: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, all but southwestern Vermont, most of Massachusetts. Originally distributed throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut.
  Subspecies: Martes pennanti pennanti according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998).
  Short-tailed weasel, Mustela erminea
  Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
  Subspecies: Mustela erminea cicognanii according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998).
  Long-tailed weasel, Mustela frenata
  Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
  Subspecies: Mustela frenata occisor (all but western Maine) and Mustela frenata noveboracensis (western Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) do not recognize both M. f. occisor and M. f. noveboracensis as valid and recognize all New England Mustela frenata as Mustela frenata frenata. Wozencraft (2005), however, does recognize both M. f. occisor and M. f. noveboracensis as valid subspecies.
  American mink, Neovison vison
  Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
  Subspecies: Neovison vison vison (Maine, all but southernmost New Hampshire, and all but southernmost Vermont) and Neovison vison mink (southernmost New Hampshire, southernmost Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) according to Hall (1981). Whitaker and Hamilton (1998) do not recognize N. v. mink as valid and recognize all New England Neovison vison as N. v. vison. Wozencraft (2005), however, does recognize N. v. mink as a valid subspecies.
  Sea mink, Neovison macrodon (extinct)
  Distribution (historic): Eastern Massachusetts, extreme south eastern New Hampshire, and eastern Maine
  River otter, Lontra canadensis
  Distribution: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, northern Connecticut, and northern Rhode Island.
  Subspecies: Lontra canadensis canadensis according to Hall (1981) and Whitaker and Hamilton (1998).
caption: Short-tailed weasel
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