Mink 154920 225721254 2008-07-15T02:08:12Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {{Otheruses}} {{Refimprove|date=July 2008}} {{Taxobox | name = Mink | image = Europäischer Nerz.jpg | image_caption = European Mink ([[European Mink|Mustela lutreola]]) | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | ordo = [[Carnivora]] | familia = [[Mustelidae]] | subfamily = [[Mustelinae]] | genus = [[Neovison]] and [[Mustela]] | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''[[American Mink|Neovison vison]]'' <br/> ''[[Sea Mink|Neovison macrodon]]''<br/> ''[[European Mink|Mustela lutreola]]'' }} [[Image:Mink - Lower Saranac Lake.jpg|thumb|left|A wild American Mink, [[Lower Saranac Lake]].]] There are two living species of '''mink'''. The [[American Mink]] and the [[European Mink]]. The extinct [[Sea Mink]] is related to the American Mink, but is much larger. All three species of mink are dark-colored, semi-[[aquatic animal|aquatic]], [[carnivorous]] [[mammal]]s of the family [[Mustelidae]], which also includes the [[weasel]]s and the [[otter]]s. The American Mink is larger, and more adaptable than the European Mink. It is sometimes possible to distinguish the European and American species based on the fact that the American Mink usually lacks a large white patch on its upper lip, while the European Mink always possesses one. Any mink without such a patch can be identified with certainty as an American Mink, but an individual with such a patch, if encountered in continental Europe, cannot be certainly identified without looking at the skeleton. The American Mink's [[fur]] has been highly prized for its use in [[clothing]], with [[hunting]] giving way to large-scale mink [[fur farming|farming]]. Its treatment has also been a focus of [[animal welfare]] [[activism]]. American Mink have found their way into the wild in [[Europe]] (including [[Great Britain]]) and [[South America]], after being released from mink farms by animal rights activists. American Mink are believed by some to have contributed to the decline of the less hardy European mink through competition. Trapping is used to control and eliminate any [[feral]] American Mink.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} == Species == *[[European Mink]] ''Mustela lutreola'' *[[American Mink]] ''Neovison vison'' *[[Sea Mink]] ''Neovison macrodon'' (extinct) {{commons|category:Neovison}} {{wikispecies|Neovison}} [[Category:Mammals of North America]] [[ar:الفيزون]] [[de:nerz]] [[es:vison]] [[fr:Vison]] [[ko:밍크]] [[id:Vizelo]] [[it:Visone]] [[he:חורפן]] [[ja:ミンク]] [[pt:Vison]] [[ru:Норка]] [[sv:Mink]]