🦡African striped weasel
The African striped weasel, also known as the white-naped weasel, striped weasel or African weasel, is a small mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa, where its range stretches from as far north as Kenya south to South Africa. It is in the family Mustelidae and is the lone member of the genus Poecilogale. It has a long, slender body with short legs and a bushy tail. One of the smallest carnivorans in Africa, it measures 24 to 35 cm long excluding the tail, with males generally larger than females. It has black fur over most of its body, with distinctive white bands running from the top of its head down its back, with the tail being completely white. The closest living relative of this species is the striped polecat, and it may also be related to the extinct Propoecilogale bolti.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2015.
- Body mass
- 0.28 kg
- Body length
- 0.33 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 6.24 years
Everything we know about the African striped weasel
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass0.28 kgCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 0.28 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: low
Body length0.33 mCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Brain mass4.92 gCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan6.24 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Generation length3.4 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Age at maturity2.5 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation32 daysCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 32 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: low
Litter sizeabout 2COMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 2.2AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: low
Trophic levelCarnivoreCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleNocturnalCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l0.3 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for African striped weasel yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classMammalia
- ›orderCarnivora
- ›familyMustelidae
- ›genusPoecilogale
- ›speciesPoecilogale albinucha
- classMammals · Mammalia
- orderCarnivorans · Carnivora
- subfamilyGalictinae
- genusPoecilogale
All 15 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- classMammals · Mammalia
- subclassTheria
- superorderLaurasiatheria
- orderCarnivorans · Carnivora
- suborderCaniformia
- familyMustelidae
- subfamilyGalictinae
- genusPoecilogale
More about the African striped weasel
No videos of the African striped weasel yet.
We have 44,653 videos so far, and none of them features this animal yet.
All videos →Compare the African striped weasel
Pick a tool — the African striped weasel is already selected.
Compare every stat with any other animal.
Stand them on the same floor and see who's bigger.
How speed, brain and bite scale with body size. This animal isn't in the sample yet.
See where it sits in the tree of life.