The Haida ermine (''Mustela haidarum'') is a

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin , weasel) are a diverse family of carnivoran mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, polecats, martens, grisons, and wolverines. Otherwise known as mustelids (), they form the largest family in the suborde ...

species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to a few islands off the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, namely

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the southern

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago () is a archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Indigenous names

In the

Haida language Haida (', ', ', ') is the language of the Haida people, spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of western Canada and on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. An endangered language, Haida currently has 24 native speakers, though revit ...

, this species is known as ''daayáats’'' in its brown summer coat and ''tlag'' in its winter coat.

Taxonomy

The three subspecies of the Haida ermine were originally considered subspecies of the common stoat ('' M. erminea''). However, in 2013, they were recognized as distinct from any other ermine, and a 2021 study further found them to comprise a distinct species. ''M. haidarum'' is thought have originated about 375,000 years ago (during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

), and is thought to be the result of ancient

hybrid speciation Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. Previously, reproductive isolation between two species and their parents was tho ...

between the Beringian ermine (''M. erminea'') and American ermine (''M. richardsonii''). The islands are thought to have been glacial refugia during the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. Ice sheets covered m ...

, with both species of ermine being isolated on the islands and hybridizing with one another, while the ice sheets separated them from the rest of the world—thus leading to the formation of a new species. It is recognized as a distinct species by the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence ...

Distribution

The species is found on a few islands off the coast of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

. In Canada, it is found on the

archipelago in Graham and Moresby islands, while in

it is found on Prince of Wales Island and possibly Suemez Island. It is found in a

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

habitat.

Description

Aside from genetic differences, ''M. haidarum'' can be distinguished from ''M. erminea'' and ''M. richardsonii'' by its elongated skull.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are thought to exist.

Conservation

The habitat for the Haida ermine has been intensively reduced over the past few centuries due to old-growth timber harvest in the Tongass National Forest, an important protected area for the species, as well as industrial-scale mining on the islands, which disproportionately affects insular endemics such as ''M. haidarum''. Expanding human populations and increasing tourism may increase the risk of pathogen

spillover Spillover may refer to: * Adsorption spillover, a chemical phenomenon involving the movement of atoms adsorbed onto a metal surface * Catalyst support#Spillover * Behavioral spillover, the effect that one behavior has on other behaviors with a s ...

to ''M. haidarum'', including pathogens common to pets such as canine distemper and parvoviruses, which have negatively impacted other wild mustelids. Due to the rudimentary understanding of the true level of endemism in these northern archipelagos, these threats must be better quantified to protect species from them. The Pacific martens (''M. caurina'') inhabiting

also represent a distinct lineage from other populations, indicating that the habitat of the islands may have allowed other distinct species or subspecies to evolve.

Behavior

The Haida ermine traverse their environment with quick momentum from their small legs. They root around in search of holes and crevices often scouting their surroundings on their hind legs. They hunt in short periods often in ten to fourteen minute increments up to four hours, interchanging between break periods every three to five hours of the day. They typically hunt prey that are several times their own weight by precise lunges at the neck. Except for rabbits which have too much fur around their neck for the bite to penetrate but instead are gripped at the nape and scratched with their hind legs. Haida ermine are known to lick the blood created by them off their prey first. They kill when given the chance and store what isn't required at the time in their nests.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q107657638, from2=Q11694623 Weasels Mammals of Canada Mammals of the United States Endemic fauna of the Pacific Northwest Mammals described in 1898 Extant Pleistocene first appearances Taxa named by Edward Alexander Preble Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN