Neogale (colloquially referred to as the New World weasels) is a genus of carnivorous, highly active small mammals belonging to the Mustelidae family (which also contains badgers, weasels, martens, otters, and wolverines, among others). Neogale contains four species: the Amazon weasel (Neogale africana), the long and short-tailed weasels (N. frenata and N. lontra), and the American mink (N. vison). Native to the Americas, members of the genus can be found as far north as Alaska and as far south as Argentina and Bolivia. Across this distribution, they thrive in a range of habitats, from the deep-freezes of the Alaskan and Canadian boreal forests to the arid desert southwest, and from the humid tropics of Central and South America (including the Amazon basin) to the windswept foothills of the Andes and northern Patagonia.
Members of this genus were formerly classified into the genera Mustela and Neovison, but many studies had previously recovered several American species of Mustela, as well as both species within Neovison, to comprise a monophyletic clade distinct from all other members of Mustelinae.[1] [2] A 2021 study found this clade to have diverged from Mustela during the Late Miocene, between 11.8 - 13.4 million years ago, with all members within the clade being more closely related to one another than to any of the other species in Mustela, and gave it the name Neogale, originally coined by John Edward Gray. The American Society of Mammalogists later accepted this change.[3]
There are 5 recent species in the genus, 4 extant and 1 extinct:
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neogale africana | Amazon weasel | Amazon Basin of South America | ||
| Neogale felipei | Colombian weasel | Andes of Colombia and Ecuador | ||
| Neogale frenata | Long-tailed weasel | Continental North America south of southern Canada; Andes and northern Amazon Basin in South America | ||
| Neogale vison | American mink | North America (United States and Canada); introduced to Europe, Japan, Chile and Argentina |