Skulls of a long-tailed weasel ( top ), a stoat ( bottom left ) and least weasel ( bottom right ), as illustrated in Clinton Hart Merriam | Merriam's Synopsis of the Weasels of North America

The stoat first arose in Eurasia, shortly after the long-tailed weasel arose as its mirror image in North America 2 million years ago.

The stoat and the long-tailed weasel remained separated until half a million years ago, when falling sea levels exposed the Bering land bridge.

Combined phylogenetic analyses indicate the stoat's closest living relative is the mountain weasel ( Mustela altaica ), though it is also closely related to the least weasel ( Mustela nivalis ) and long-tailed weasel ( Mustela frenata ).

Mammals which call these places home include the red fox, long-tailed weasel, mink, muskrat, woodchuck, several bat species, bottlenose dolphins, harbour porpoises and possibly river otters which are close to local extinction in Long Island with only an estimated 8 individuals thought to have recently migrated from Connecticut.

Other predators include the Sharp-shinned Hawk, the long-tailed weasel, and the Northern Saw-whet Owl.

The long-tailed weasel ( Mustela frenata ), also known as the bridled weasel or big stoat is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central America and into northern South America.

Skulls of a long-tailed weasel ( top ), a stoat ( bottom left ) and least weasel ( bottom right ), as illustrated in Clinton Hart Merriam | Merriam's Synopsis of the Weasels of North America

The long-tailed weasel is the product of a process begun 5 – 7 million years ago, when northern forests were replaced by open grassland, thus prompting an explosive evolution of small, burrowing rodents.

The long-tailed weasel arose in North America 2 million years ago, shortly before the stoat evolved as its mirror image in Eurasia.

The long-tailed weasel and the stoat remained separated until half a million years ago, when falling sea levels exposed the Bering land bridge, thus allowing the stoat to cross into North America.

However, unlike the latter species, the long-tailed weasel never crossed the land bridge, and did not spread into Eurasia.

The long-tailed weasel is one of the largest members of the genus Mustela in North America, with a total length of 300 – 350 mm and a tail comprising 40 – 70 % of the head and body length.

The long-tailed weasel moults twice annually, once in autumn ( October to mid-November ) and once in spring ( March – April ).

Unlike skunks, which spray their musk, the long-tailed weasel drags and rubs its body over surfaces in order to leave the scent, but if they are running from prey they try to hide their scent as best as possible.

The long-tailed weasel mates in July – August, with implantation of the fertilized egg on the uterine wall being delayed until about March.

The long-tailed weasel dens in ground burrows, under stumps or beneath rock piles.

The long-tailed weasel is a fearless and aggressive hunter which may attack animals far larger than itself.

With large prey, such as rabbits, the long-tailed weasel strikes quickly, taking its prey off guard.

The Philippine Eagle was known initially as the Philippine Monkey-Eating Eagle because it was believed to feed on monkeys ( the only monkey native to the Philippines is the Philippine long-tailed macaque ) almost exclusively ; this has proven to be inaccurate.

The long-tailed planigale has an extraordinary head shape.

The long-tailed pair has many attributes as a switch: largely immune to tube ( transistor ) variations ( of great importance when machines contained 1, 000 or more tubes ), high gain, gain stability, high input impedance, medium / low output impedance, good clipper ( with not-too-long tail ), non-inverting ( EDSAC contained no inverters!

A broad-winged and long-tailed, it also has long legs and frequently walks and runs on the ground.

The juvenile is streaked and has a spotted mantle. It is an upright long-tailed flycatcher.

Despite its bulky, long-tailed appearance, this pigeon has a fast, direct flight.

Despite its bulky, long-tailed appearance, this pigeon has a fast, direct flight.

The Wrentit has been variously placed in its own family, the Chamaeidae, or with the long-tailed tits ( Aegithalidae ), the true tits and chickadees ( Paridae ), the " Old World warblers " ( Sylviidae ), and with the " Old World babblers " ( Timaliidae ).

Until now the false gharial was thought to have a diet similar to its relative the true gharial, i. e. only fish and very small vertebrates, but new evidence and occurrences have proven that the false gharial's broader snout has enabled larger individuals to prey on larger vertebrates including Proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques, deer and fruit bats.

In Tuva, Campbell's dwarf hamster has been found living with other hamsters such as the Chinese striped hamster, the roborovski hamster and the long-tailed dwarf hamster.

A classic application for a pair of class-A devices is the long-tailed pair, which is exceptionally linear, and forms the basis of many more complex circuits, including many audio amplifiers and almost all op-amps.

The word " quetzal " was originally used for just the Resplendent Quetzal, the famous long-tailed quetzal of Central America, which is the national bird and the name of the currency of Guatemala.

The head shape aside ( which in any case is not obvious from all angles ), the long-tailed planigale looks rather like a very small mouse with a long, bare tail.

They are generally small, long-tailed birds which inhabit reedbeds and similar habitat.

Placement in a superfamily Sylvioidea which contained birds such as Sylviidae, Timaliidae and long-tailed tits-but not Paridae-was confirmed.

The Cockatiel is now biologically classified as a genuine member of Cacatuidae on account of sharing all of the Cockatoo family's biological features, namely, the erectile crest, a gallbladder, powder down, suppressed cloudy-layer ( enabling Lories, Lorikeets ( long-tailed Lories ), Parakeets and typical Parrot species ' display of structural colours such as aquas, blues, greens, purples and turquoises ), and facial feathers covering the sides of the beak, all of which are rarely found outside the Cacatuidae family.

In discrete electronics, a common arrangement for implementing a differential amplifier is the long-tailed pair, which is also usually found as the differential element in most op-amp integrated circuits.

The long-tailed weasel is an obligate carnivore which prefers its prey to be fresh or alive, eating only the carrion stored within its burrows.

The Spotted Dove ( Spilopelia chinensis ) is a small and somewhat long-tailed pigeon which is a common resident breeding bird across its native range on the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

In " long-tailed " distributions a high-frequency or high-amplitude population is followed by a low-frequency or low-amplitude population which gradually " tails off " asymptotically.

The name Anomura derives from an old classification in which reptant decapods were divided into Macrura ( long-tailed ), Brachyura ( short-tailed ) and Anomura ( differently-tailed ).

Basal traits though, are the retention of pterygoid teeth and the flexibility of the tail, which lacks the very long stiffening vertebral extensions other long-tailed pterosaurs possess.

Known only from a single specimen, the holotype consists of a virtually complete articulated skull and skeleton, it shared its corporal characteristics with most other Mesozoic mammals ; it was a long-tailed, nocturnal tetrapod ( with prehensile fingers and toes ) which hunted insects, its food, during the night.