Issue:
VOL NA
DOI:
10.3409/azc.59_1.25
Keywords:
Small mustelids, sexual dimorphism, taxonomy, Late Pleistocene, size variation
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The common weasel Mustela nivalis L., 1766 from Sarakenos Cave (Greece) and the difficulty to distinguish small mustelid species in the fossil record
Abstract:
The common weasel Mustela nivalisis the only carnivore found in trench A of Sarakenos Cave. It is represented by three male mandibles of robust build and very large size, two dated at the Late Pleistocene and one from a Mesolithic layer. Metrically and morphologically they are indistinguishable from the southern, large weasels: Mustela nivalis boccamela and Mustela nivalis numidica. The results exclude the occurrence of stoat Mustela erminea, the only species which can be mistaken for the weasel. In the Pleistocene the common weasel receded far to the south (as far as Egypt, where a relict population survives), and today it is restricted to northern Lebanon and Syria. Mustela nivalis is widespread in the Mediterranean, where it was introduced by man on many islands.
