Mustela felipei

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CARNIVORA	MUSTELIDAE

Scientific Name:

Mustela felipei

Species Authority:

Izor & de la Torre, 1978

Common Name/s:

English

–

Colombian Weasel

Taxonomic Notes:

Izor and de la Torre (1978) suggested that M. africana and M. felipei form a monophyletic group. Youngman (1982) placed M. felipei in subgenus Grammogale; Abramov (1999) placed it in subgenus Cabreragale.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Vulnerable B1ab(ii,iii) ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

Emmons, L. & Helgen, K.

Reviewer/s:

Duckworth, J.W. (Small Carnivore Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Justification:
This species is listed as Vulnerable due to a limited extent of occurrence (<10,000 km²), it is know from only 10 localities and due to an ongoing decline in population size (estimated from the rates of habitat loss and deforestation in the northern Andes in Colombia and Ecuador). Very little is know about this species and it may be more threatened than we can infer from the 10 localities where it has been found to persist. This species should be reevaluated when more becomes know of its distribution and threats.

History:

1996	–	Endangered
1994	–	Endangered (Groombridge 1994)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Since the discovery of the Colombian weasel, only five specimens have been obtained from western Colombia (provinces of Huila and Cauca) and northern Ecuador (Nowak, 2005). The species was thought to be endemic to the Cordillera Central of Colombia, but another specimen was found from Andean Ecuador (Schreiber et al., 1989).
Countries:	Native: Colombia; Ecuador
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Nothing is know of populations of this species. Less than 10 specimens are known of this species.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Hardly anything is known of its habitat preferences (Schreiber et al., 1989). The few specimens have been obtained from an altitude, between 1,750 and 2,700 m, where cloud forests predominate. One Colombian weasel was collected in the upper Suaza river valley (Cueva de los Guacharos National Park). This part of the Suaza river contains stretches with torrential currents which are interrupted by quiet pools (Rodriguez, 1988).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Hardly anything is known of its habitat preferences (Schreiber et al., 1989). The few specimens have been obtained from an altitude, between 1,750 and 2,700 m, where cloud forests predominate. One Colombian weasel was collected in the upper Suaza river valley (Cueva de los Guacharos National Park). This part of the Suaza river contains stretches with torrential currents which are interrupted by quiet pools (Rodriguez, 1988).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The species occurs in a limited area where deforestation is rampant (Nowak, 2005). Schreiber et al. (1989) noted that it is among the rarest carnivores in South America. A great majority of the presumed range of the species has been deforested for agriculture.

Major Threat(s):

The species occurs in a limited area where deforestation is rampant (Nowak, 2005). Schreiber et al. (1989) noted that it is among the rarest carnivores in South America. A great majority of the presumed range of the species has been deforested for agriculture.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	One specimen has been collected near the administrative centre of the Cueva de los Guacharos National Park (9,000 ha; Rodriguez, 1988). The Parque National de Huila (158,000 ha) and Parque National de Purace (83,000 ha) are also close to collecting sites of M. felipei (Liebermann pers. comm.).

Conservation Actions:

One specimen has been collected near the administrative centre of the Cueva de los Guacharos National Park (9,000 ha; Rodriguez, 1988). The Parque National de Huila (158,000 ha) and Parque National de Purace (83,000 ha) are also close to collecting sites of M. felipei (Liebermann pers. comm.).

Bibliography [top]

	Izor, R. and de la Torre, L., 1978. A new species of weasel (Mustela) form the highlands of Colombia, with comments on the evolution and distribution of south american weasels. Journal of Mammalogy 59(1): 92-102. Nowak, R. M. 2005. Walker’s Carnivores of the world. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA and London, UK. Schreiber, A., Wirth, R., Riffel, M. and Van Rompaey, H. 1989. Weasels, civets, mongooses, and their relatives. An Action Plan for the conservation of mustelids and viverrids. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Youngman, P. M. 1982. Distribution and systematics of the European mink Mustela lutreola Linnaeus 1761. Acta Zoologica Fennica 166: 48.

Izor, R. and de la Torre, L., 1978. A new species of weasel (Mustela) form the highlands of Colombia, with comments on the evolution and distribution of south american weasels. Journal of Mammalogy 59(1): 92-102.

Nowak, R. M. 2005. Walker’s Carnivores of the world. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA and London, UK.

Schreiber, A., Wirth, R., Riffel, M. and Van Rompaey, H. 1989. Weasels, civets, mongooses, and their relatives. An Action Plan for the conservation of mustelids and viverrids. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Youngman, P. M. 1982. Distribution and systematics of the European mink Mustela lutreola Linnaeus 1761. Acta Zoologica Fennica 166: 48.

Citation:	Emmons, L. & Helgen, K. 2008. Mustela felipei. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 May 2012.
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