Basic information |
Scientific name |
Mustela sibirica |
(No picture)
|
Common names |
Siberian weasel |
Higher taxon |
Mustelidae, Carnivora, Mammalia |
Natural range |
Western side of Ural Mountains to Siberia, Mongolia, continental China, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, and Tsushima, Japan, except for Gobi and Takla Makan Deserts. |
Habitat |
Montane to lowland including around human habitat. Lowland may be more preferable habitat. |
Invasion information |
Range in Japan |
Fukui, Gifu, Aichi Prefs. to western Japan except Ryukyus. Two small islands, Aoshima Is., Fukuoka Pref. and Sagi Is., Miyazaki Pref. There is a past record in western Shizuoka Pref. |
|
Origin |
Korean Peninsula |
Date |
Around 1920-1930, introduced in Hyogo and Fukuoka Pref. In Fukuoka, this species might be introduced by hitchhiking on ship cargo in confusing period after W.W.II. The spread of this species occurred after W.W.II in Kyushu. Introduction to Sagi Is. and Aoshima Is. were in 1958 and 1966, respectively. |
Route |
Deliberate: Release of cultivated weasels for fur production. Introduced for biological control of rat in Sagishima Is. of Miyazaki Pref. and Aoshima Is. of Nagasaki Is. |
Impact |
Actually: Competition with native weasels (Recent studies suggested urbanization reduces the native species and after give rise to spread of this species, rather than competition). Damage on agriculture. Intrusion on houses. Potentially: Predation on small vertebrates. Carrying parasites (Gnathostoma nipponicum, Paragoninus ohirai, P. miyazakii, etc.). Native organism(s) affected: Mustela itatsi (competition), small mammmals, birds, reptiles and amphibians (predation) |
Regulation in Japan |
No action for prevention, mitigation, control, or eradication. |
Introduced range in other countries |
None. |