The Amazon weasel (Mustela africana), also known as the tropical weasel, is a species of weasel that lives in the Amazon Rainforest in South America. It is rated "Least Concern" by the IUCN Red List. Despite its scientific name, it is not found in Africa. It is a shiny brown weasel with a white or cream belly with a brown stripe down the chest. The Amazon weasel measures 9.8 to 15 in (25 to 38 cm) in length. It has a tail length of 3.9–7.9 in (9.9–20 cm). The Amazon weasel is rarely seen and little is known about it. They eat rodents and other small mammals, and make their homes in the stumps of hollow trees.
The two subspecies of the Amazon weasel are M. a. africana and M. a. stolzmanni
Famous quotes containing the word weasel:
“This whole day have I followed in the rocks,
And you have changed and flowed from shape to shape,
First as a raven on whose ancient wings
Scarcely a feather lingered, then you seemed
A weasel moving on from stone to stone....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)