Discovery of the yellow-bellied weasel Mustela Kathiah in Thailand
Journal article
Authors/Editors
Strategic Research Themes
No matching items found.
Publication Details
Author list: Supparatvikorn S., Sutasha K., Sirisumpun T., Kunthawong N., Chutipong W., Duckworth J.W.
Publisher: Siam Society
Publication year: 2012
Volume number: 58
Issue number: 1
Start page: 19
End page: 30
Number of pages: 12
ISSN: 0080-9462
eISSN: 0080-9462
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
Abstract
The first records of Yellow-bellied Weasel Mustela kathiah from Thailand are from sites in the country’s north that are ecologically similar to where the species has been recorded in the neighbouring countries Lao PDR and Myanmar. The first record came from Doi Phahompok National Park, Chiang Mai Province. The dead animal, later deposited at the Thailand Natural History Museum, was misidentified as Least Weasel Mustela nivalis (never otherwise claimed for Thailand) and has been included under that name in some publications on mammals of Thailand. Two road-killed Yellow-bellied Weasels (one preserved) and one sighting come from Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province. A live-captured weasel and several sightings, all by day, were documented in Taksin Maharaj National Park, Tak Province. One sighting record from Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchanaburi Province, is south of the other records presented here. Most records came from hill evergreen forest and/or disturbed habitats at elevations above 1,400 m asl, but the Thung Yai sighting was in dry evergreen forest at 770 m asl. The scarcity of Thai records of Yellow-bellied Weasel does not necessarily indicate a genuine national rarity; it may simply have been overlooked by conventional survey methods. Least Weasel should be deleted from the list of mammals of Thailand. © 2012 Siam Society. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Extension of known range, Hill evergreen forest, Least Weasel, Mustela kathiah, Mustela nivalis, Yellow-bellied Weasel
Contact Information