American Mink

American Mink Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene–Recent
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Caniformia
Family:	{{{1}}}
Genus:	{{{1}}}
Species:	N. vison
Binomial name
Neovison vison (Schreber, 1777)
Subspecies
15, see text
American mink range

Other names

Description

Subspecies

As of 2005, 15 subspecies are recognised.

Subspecies	Trinomial authority	Description	Range	Synonyms
Eastern or little black mink N. v. vison (Nominate subspecies)	Schreber, 1777	The smallest subspecies	Eastern Canada, west to Hudson Bay; south in interior to Catskill Mountains, New York, and to northern Pennsylvania	altaica (Ternovskii, 1958) borealis (Brass, 1911) nigrescens (Audubon and Bachman, 1854) tatarica (Popov, 1949) winingus (Baird, 1858)
California lowland mink N. v. aestuarina	Ginnell, 1916	Resembles N. v. energumenos, but smaller and has paler, less dense fur	Lowlands of west-central California; west to Petaluma and Marin Counties
N. v. aniakensis	Burns, 1964
Western or Pacific mink N. v. energumenos	Bangs, 1896	A small and dark coloured subspecies with dark sooty-brown fur, the males measure 24 inches (61 cm) in body length and 8.2 inches (21 cm) in tail length	Western North America, from British Columbia south to the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and Rocky Mountains in New Mexico
N. v. evagor	Hall, 1932
N. v. evergladensis	Hamilton, 1948
Alaska mink N. v. ingens	Osgood, 1900	The largest subspecies, it resembles N. v. energumenos, but is lighter in colour. Males measure 28.8 inches (73 cm) in body length and 7.2 inches (18 cm) in tail length	Northern, western and central Alaska; northern Yukon and northwestern Mackenzie; south to the Alaska Peninsula and to Fort Good Hope
Hudson Bay mink N. v. lacustris	Preble, 1902	It has dark chocolate-brown fur above with white on the chin and irregularly distributed on the breast and between the hind legs. Males measure 27 inches (69 cm) in body length and 8 inches (20 cm) in tail length.	Interior of Canada from Great Bear Lake and the western shores of Hudson Bay south through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to southern North Dakota
Mississippi Valley mink N. v. letifera	Hollister, 1913	It has a light brown coat with white spots on the chin, throat and breast. Males measure 26 inches (66 cm) in body length and 9.4 inches (24 cm) in tail length.	Northern Wisconsin and northern South Dakota south to northern Illinois, northern Missouri, and southern Kansas
N. v. lowii	Anderson, 1945
Florida mink N. v. lutensis	Bangs, 1898	A medium-sized subspecies, it has a pale, russet to clay or reddish-brown coat. Males measure 23 inches (58 cm) in body length and 8 inches (20 cm) in tail length.	Coast of southeastern United States from South Carolina to Florida
Kenai mink N. v. melampeplus	Elliot, 1904	Darker than energumenos, it has dark chocolate-coloured fur with slightly paler underparts and a white spot on the chin. Males measure 28 inches (71 cm) in body length and 7.2 inches (18 cm) in tail length.	Kenai Peninsula and Cook Inlet
Common mink N. v. mink	Peale and Palisot de Beauvois, 1796	A larger and more robust form than N. v. vison, it has similar colouration. Males measure 25.5 inches (65 cm) in total length and 8.5 inches (22 cm) in tail length.	Eastern United States, from the coast of New England south to North Carolina and in the interior to central Georgia and Alabama; westward through southern Pennsylvania and Ohio to Missouri and northeastern Texas	lutreocephala (Harlan, 1825) rufa (Hamilton-Smith, 1858)
Island mink N. v. nesolestes	Heller, 1909	Intermediate in size between N. v. ingens and N. v. energumenos, it has rather dark fur. The fur is Van Dyke brown, lighter on the cheeks and sides and darker on the tail. The underparts are walnut brown and white on the chin, with irregular white spots or areas on the throat, chest, inner arms, and abdomen. Males measure 24.5 inches (62 cm) in body length and 7.3 inches (19 cm) in tail length.	Admiralty Island, Alexander Archipelago
Southern mink N. v. vulgivaga	Bangs, 1895	It resembles N. v.mink, but is paler and smaller, with light brown, rich and lustrous fur which darkens at the end of the tail. Males measure 24.5 inches (62 cm) in body length and 7.5 inches (19 cm) in tail length.	Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi

Similar species

Behaviour

Diet

Calls

Reproduction

Distribution/habitat

References

External links

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This article is part of Project Mammalia, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each mammal, including made-up species. This article is part of Project Carnivora, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each carnivoran, including made-up species. File:Longtailed Weasel.png This article is part of Project Mustelidae, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Mustelid, including made-up species.