Mustela nivalis

Called the Least Weasel or weasel in most English dialects and literature, the least weasel is native to Eurasia and the Americas. It was an important weasel in European lore, according to some sources today.

## Name

The term "least weasel" comes from the term least, which in this sense means small. It is the least largest of the weasels. Nivalis means snowy or snow covered, likely because it is both white in winter and develops a white winter coat.

Carl Linneaus, in his Latin books, described the least weasel by its French name "le Belette". However its description of a blacked tipped tail is best suited for its relatives. They already mentioned the ermine, so it'd probably best fit the American weasels. In a descendant of this book (a very modified translation with tons of new stuff) published in 1800 it was given the scientific name Mustela vulagris, under the common name descriptor the Common Weesel. It is mentioned there that they become playful when tamed, and in the Greek Wikipedia they are noted for having once been domesticated for use of eating mice in farms, but had been replaced by cats. Other sources also mention of its domestication for mouse hunting.

It has been called various other scientific names, with weasels seeming to combine, separate, and combine again. It has been called Mustela rixosa and Putorius pusillus.

I do not know when it was renamed to nivalis.

## Subspecies & Variations

* *Mustela nivalis allegheniensis*
* *Mustela nivalis boccamela*
* *Mustela nivalis campestris*
* *Mustela nivalis caucasica*
* *Mustela nivalis eskimo*
* *Mustela nivalis heptneri*
* *Mustela nivalis namiyei*
* *Mustela nivalis nivalis*
* *Mustela nivalis numidica*
* *Mustela nivalis pallida*
* *Mustela nivalis pygmaea*
* *Mustela nivalis rixosa*
* *Mustela nivalis russelliana*
* *Mustela nivalis subpalmata*
* *Mustela nivalis vulgaris*

Isn't it hilarious that caucasica and eskimo are not only both racial names, but right next to each other alphabetically?

## Religion & Impact

According to some sources, a story by Ovid in his 9th Metamorpheses book tells the story of Alcmena, the mother of Hercules, who vents her story to the goddess Iole. She tells her of her contractions and how Lucina, the goddess of childbirth, stood outside the door and crossed her hands and legs to spell Alcmena to prevent her from giving birth, as instructed by Juno. A "dame" from Thebes named Galanthis arrived to help with her childbirth. She was a muscular redhead. When she saw the goddess with her crossed legs and fingers, she went into the birthing room and proclaimed the successful birth. Lucina, in surprise, got up to open the door and see how the child could have been born. With the spell gone the child was then born. Lucina, discovering the trick, cursed Galanthis to become a furry beast. In my version that I could find, it does not mention that it was a weasel, instead referring to Galanthis' redhair, muscular arms, and "lying ways" as befitting the creature she turned into. However sources for a long time seem to insist that it is a weasel.

Pliny reports that the weasel scares away basiliks with its odor. Its bones are also crushed as a use of anti-venom.

## See also

* Mustela erminea
* Weasels

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=nivalis&oldid=65193795
2. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/A\_General\_System\_of\_Nature/PXMQAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA61&printsec=frontcover
3. ↑ https://el.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%CE%9D%CF%85%CF%86%CE%AF%CF%84%CF%83%CE%B1&oldid=9443078
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2015/04/13/cats-gods-and-weasels-in-ancient-greece/
5. ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/1373581?seq=10#metadata\_info\_tab\_contents
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Least\_weasel&oldid=1111814028
7. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ovid\_s\_Metamorphoses/kGhZAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=galanthis&pg=PA310&printsec=frontcover
8. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ovid\_s\_Metamorphoses/0RUhlNVR758C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=galanthis&pg=PA439&printsec=frontcover
9. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Galanthis&oldid=1104113307
10. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Basilisk&oldid=1144121830