Japanese Weasel

Open encyclopedia reference

The Japanese weasel (Mustela itatsi) is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the genus Mustela in the family Mustelidae. The most closely related Mustela species is the Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica). Its taxonomic species name, itatsi, is based on the Japanese word for weasel, itachi (イタチ). It is native to Japan where it occurs on the islands of Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku. It has been introduced to Hokkaidō and the Ryukyu Islands to control rodents and has also been introduced to Sakhalin Island in Russia. It has an orange-brown coloured fur coat with darker markings on the head and varies in size depending on its gender. They have a long slender body, a long tail, relatively short legs and sharp claws. It is often confused with the Siberian weasel which has a different ratio of tail to head and body length. Unlike other species of weasels, their coat does not change colour in winter. Average lifespan of a Japanese weasel is highly dependent on the availability of food and to a lesser extent other factors that affect its life.

Wikipedia contributors, Japanese weasel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:29:40.548344+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Mustela itatsi Temminck, 1844

Name authority

Temminck, 1844

Common name

Japanese Weasel

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Mustelidae

Genus

Mustela

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderCarnivora Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderCaniformia Kretzoi, 1938
13. familyMustelidae G. Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
14. subfamilyMustelinae G. Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
15. genusMustela Linnaeus, 1758
16. speciesMustela itatsi Temminck, 1844

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Mustela. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 58 records assigned to Mustelidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=726281 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:44QX8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.