The European mink, also known as the Russian mink or Eurasian mink, is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to Europe. It resembles the American mink in colour but is slightly smaller with a less specialized skull, and despite the similarity in name and build the two are not closely related, the European mink being closer to the European polecat and the Siberian weasel. It lives primarily along forest streams unlikely to freeze in winter and feeds mainly on voles, frogs, fish, crustaceans, and insects. The IUCN lists it as Critically Endangered, its numbers having declined more than fifty percent over the past three generations and projected to decline by over eighty percent over the next three, a decline that began in the nineteenth century and has been attributed to a combination of factors including habitat loss and competition with the introduced American mink.
Facts
Scientific Name Conservation Status Body Size Band Activity Pattern Activity Pattern Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to PeopleInvasive or Introduced Species 2 Living or Extinct Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source European mink (Wikidata)
In Biome
Source European mink (Wikipedia)
In Ecosystem
Source European mink (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
2. European mink (Wikipedia)
Introduction
It primarily feeds on voles, frogs, fish, crustaceans and insects. The European mink is listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered due to an ongoing reduction in numbers, having been calculated as declining more than 50% over the past three generations and expected to decline at a rate exceeding 80% over the next three generations.
Introduction
The European mink occurs primarily by forest streams unlikely to freeze in winter. It primarily feeds on voles, frogs, fish, crustaceans and insects.
Decline
Between 1981 and 1989, 388 European minks were introduced to two of the Kurile Islands, though by the 1990s, the population there was found to be lower than that originally released.
In Ecosystem: Danube Delta, Range and status
The current range includes an isolated population in northern Spain and western France, which is widely disjunct from the main range in Eastern Europe (Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, central regions of European Russia, the Danube Delta in Romania and northwestern Bulgaria).
In Biome: River, Habitat loss
As the European mink is more dependent on wetland habitats than the American species, its decline in Central Europe, Estonia, Finland, Russia, Moldova and Ukraine has been linked to the drainage of small rivers.
In Biome: Wetlands, Habitat loss
As the European mink is more dependent on wetland habitats than the American species, its decline in Central Europe, Estonia, Finland, Russia, Moldova and Ukraine has been linked to the drainage of small rivers.
View the Source3. European mink (Wikidata)
Wikidata- Wikidata Q26559 (P225 taxon name)
Statements section, conservation status (P141)
IUCN Red List conservation status (Wikidata property P141): critically endangered.
- Child Taxon Of: Mustelidae, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source 4. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Mustela lutreola (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITESQuote, Conservation Status: CITES
CITES No special status
5. Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014): EltonTraits 1.0 mammal diet data
Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014)Row: mustela lutreola
4983 Mustela lutreola Mustelidae 20 80 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ref_1 ABC G A 1 1 0 Ref_1 ABC 440 Ref_117 1
MamFuncDat.txt row Mustela lutreola, Activity columns
Mustela lutreola Mustelidae 20 80 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ref_1 ABC G A 1 1 0
View the Source 6. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of Liverpool: AnAge entry for Mustela lutreola
Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of LiverpoolLifespan, ageing, and relevant traitsQuote, Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits
Maximum longevity 8.4 years (captivity)
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