ermine (redirected from shorttail weasel)

ermine, name for a number of northern species of weasel having white coats in winter, and highly prized for their white fur. It most commonly refers to the white phase of Mustela erminea, called short-tailed weasel in North America and stoat in the Old World. The white pelts are made into wraps, coats, and trimmings. The black-tipped tails are used in the United States as ornament, and in Europe they were used with the ermine of royal robes.

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ermine

 or stoat

Ermine (Mustela erminea)

(credit: © Charlie Ott—The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers)

Species of the weasel family (Mustela erminea). Its white winter coat has historically adorned royal robes and is still used in the fur trade. Ermines are found in North America and northern Eurasia. They are most abundant in thickets, woodland, and semitimbered areas. In summer they are brown, with whitish throat, chest, and belly. Species are 5–12 in. (13–29 cm) long (excluding the 2–5-in., or 5–12-cm, tail) and weigh less than 11 oz (0.3 kg). Voracious carnivores, ermines feed on small mammals, birds, eggs, frogs, and, occasionally, invertebrates.

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ermine

fur which represents nobility. [Heraldry: Halberts, 13]

See : Dignity

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ermine

winter stoat; said to die if whiteness is soiled. [Art: Hall, 115]

See : Whiteness