Sea mink

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Sea mink
Temporal range: Late Holocene
A pen-and-ink drawing of the upper portion of the mouth (inside view) of a sea mink. The left side of the drawing (i.e., the right side of the mouth) has teeth drawn in, whereas the right side of the drawing (i.e., the left side of its mouth) has teeth sockets drawn in. The front teeth in between the canines are all drawn in
Palatal aspect of the skull from the type specimen

Extinct (1894)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Presumed Extinct (1894)  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Neogale
Species:
†N. macrodon
Binomial name
†Neogale macrodon
(Prentiss, 1903)
A topographical map depicting the Gulf of Maine region, with the land being colored green. Visible are the Northeastern United States, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and southeastern Quebec.
The sea mink was found in the Gulf of Maine area.
Synonyms[3][4]
List
    • †Lutreola vison antiquus
      Loomis, 1911
    • †Mustela macrodon
    • †Mustela vison macrodon
    • †Neovison vison macrodon
    • †Neovison macrodon

The sea mink (Neogale macrodon) is a

shell middens
. Its actual size is speculative, based largely on tooth remains.

The sea mink was first

last glacial period. Conversely, its range may have been restricted solely to the New England coast, specifically the Gulf of Maine
, or just to the nearby islands. The largest of the minks, the sea mink was more desirable to fur traders and became extinct in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Taxonomy and etymology

A wet American mink with pale brown fur, dark brown eyes, long fingers, and a skinny tail. Its head is turned to the right and it is standing on a rock next to water.
The closely related American mink (Neogale vison)

The sea mink was first

shell middens in New England. Most sea mink remains, nearly all of them skull fragments, have come from shell middens, but a complete specimen has never been found.[5][6]

Debate has occurred regarding whether the sea mink was its own

paleontologist, concluded that the differences between the American mink and the sea mink were too minute to justify the latter's classification as a separate species, and he named it Lutreola vison antiquus.[9] A study conducted in 2000 by Mead et al. refuted Loomis by claiming that the size range for the largest sea mink specimen was beyond that of the American mink, thereby making it a separate species.[10] But a 2001 study by Graham concluded that this size difference was insufficient evidence to classify the sea mink as its own species and that it should be considered a subspecies. Graham supposed that the size difference was caused by environmental factors. Furthermore, Graham reported that Mead assumed the smaller mink specimens to be the American mink, and the larger mink specimens outside the range of the American mink to be sea minks; this may have been a case of sexual dimorphism wherein all specimens were sea minks, the larger ones being males and the smaller ones being females.[7] A 2007 study compared the dental makeup of the sea mink to the American mink, and concluded that they were distinct enough to be considered two separate species.[5]

New World weasels
Mustelinae
Relations of the sea mink within Mustelinae[11]

The taxonomy of the minks was revised in 2000, resulting in the formation of a new

Mustela.[12] The species name macrodon translates to "large teeth".[13] According to Richard Manville, a naturalist who maintains that the sea mink is not a separate species, its closest relative is the common mink (N. v. mink), which also inhabits the New England area.[14] A 2021 study into New World weasels found that the sea mink, along with four other extant species, should be classified into a new genus, Neogale.[15]

Fur traders who hunted it gave the sea mink various names, including water marten, red otter, and fisher cat. Possibly the first description of this species was made by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in the late 1500s as "a fish like a greyhound", which was a reference to its affinity for the sea and its body shape and gait, which were apparently similar to that of a greyhound. It is possible that the fisher (Pekania pennanti) got its name from being mistakenly identified as the sea mink, which was also known as the fisher by fur traders.[16] The Abenaki Indians referred to it as the "mousebeysoo", which means "wet thing".[14] It was named "sea mink" because it was always found near the coast by fur traders, and subsequently the American mink was often referred to as the "woods mink".[14][17]

Range

The sea mink was a

dated to be around 4,300±300 years old, 19 kilometers (12 mi) from salt water.[18] The sea mink may have reached that area by traveling up rivers, or may have been brought there by Native Americans. The latter is most likely, as no other mink remains have been discovered between Casco Bay in Maine and southeastern Massachusetts.[19] Sea mink bones have been unearthed in Canada, although these may have been carried there by Native Americans from the Gulf of Maine. The rugged shorelines of the Down East region of Maine may have represented a northernmost barrier in their range.[18] Mead concluded that only American minks inhabited the mainland and that sea minks were restricted to islands off the coast. If this is the case, then all remains found on the mainland were carried there.[10] Graham challenged that hypothesis, stating that it is unlikely that all sea mink specimens originate from one population.[7]

During the

last glacial period, ending 12,000 years ago, the sea mink's range may have extended south of the Gulf of Maine. It may have even evolved there, as Maine at that time would have been covered in glaciers, although the oldest known specimen only dates back to around 5,000 years; this could be due to the rising sea levels—older sea mink remains may be submerged underwater. Alternately, the sea mink may have evolved after the last glacial period and filled a new ecological niche.[5]

Description

A pen-and-ink drawing of the upper teeth of a sea mink on the left, and that of an American mink on the right. The teeth of the sea mink are slightly but noticeably larger than that of the American mink.
Dentition from the upper jaw of the sea mink (left) and the American mink (right)

Since the sea mink has only been described by fragmentary remains, its appearance and behaviors are not well-documented. Its relatives, as well as descriptions by fur traders and Native Americans, give a general idea of this animal's appearance and its ecological roles. Accounts from Native Americans in the New England/Atlantic Canadian regions reported that the sea mink had a fatter body than the American mink. The sea mink produced a distinctive fishy odor, and had fur that was said to be coarser and redder than that of the American mink.

naturalist Joseph Banks encountered this animal in 1776 in the Strait of Belle Isle, and he described it as being slightly larger than a fox, having long legs, and a tail that was long and tapered toward the end, similar to a greyhound.[16]

The sea mink was the largest of the minks. As only fragmentary skeletal remains of the sea mink exist, most of its external measurements are speculative and rely only on dental measurements.[5][14][22] In 1929, Ernest Thompson Seton, a wildlife artist, concluded that the probable dimensions for this animal are 91.4 centimeters (36 in) from head to tail, with the tail being 25.4 centimeters (10 in) long.[23] A possible mounted sea mink specimen collected in 1894 in Connecticut measured 72 centimeters (28 in) from head to tail and the tail was 25.4 centimeters (10 in) in length; a 1966 study found this to be either a large American mink or possibly a hybrid. The specimen was described as having coarse fur that was reddish-tan in color, though much of it was likely faded from age. It was darkest at the tail and the hind limbs, with a 5-by-1.5-centimeter (2 by 0.6 in) white patch between the forearms. There were also white spots on the left forearm and the groin region.[14]

The type specimen was collected by Prentiss and Frederick True, a biologist, in 1897 in Brooklin, Maine, the remains of which consist of a maxilla, parts of the nasal bone, and the palate. The teeth are all present on the right side of the palate, and the left side consists of the incisors and one premolar. Other than a chipped canine, all the teeth are in good condition. The specimen is apparently larger than the Alaskan mink (N. v. nesolestes), as the average distance between the last incisor to the first molar is 2.8 centimeters (1.1 in) in the Alaskan mink, whereas that distance is 3 centimeters (1.2 in) in the type specimen. The nasal bone has an abrupter ascension, and the carnassial teeth make a more acute angle with the gums than those of the common mink (N. v. mink).[6][14]

These minks were large and heavily built, with a low

insular gigantism.[10] Since almost all members of the subfamily Mustelinae exhibit sexual dimorphism, male sea minks were probably larger than female sea minks. The sea mink's wider carnassial teeth and blunter carnassial blades suggest that they crushed hard shells more often than did the teeth of the American mink.[5]

Behavior

A sandy beach at dusk the sand on the bottom half, and the water and the horizon on the top half. There's a group of people walking across the shoreline, and on the right side of the picture there's a rock formation jutting upwards from the sand with evergreen trees on it
The sea mink was an intertidal predator of the Gulf of Maine.

Although not a truly marine species, being confined to coastal waters, the sea mink was unusually aquatic compared to other members of

garden banded snails were also reported to have been part of their diet.[14]

According to fur traders, the sea mink was

polygynandrous, with both sexes mating with multiple individuals.[5] Due to the overlap of American mink and sea mink ranges, it is possible that they hybridized with each other.[5]

Exploitation and extinction

shell midden
in Maine

The sea mink was pursued by fur traders due to its large size; this made it more desirable than other mink species further inland. The unregulated fur trade eventually led to its extinction, which is thought to have occurred between 1860 and 1920.

Campobello Island, New Brunswick, in 1894,[16] although the 1894 kill is speculated to be of large American minks.[14] Fur traders made traps to catch sea minks and also pursued them with dogs, although they were rarely trapped. If a sea mink escaped into a small hole on the rocky ledges, it was dug out by hunters using shovels and crowbars. If it was out of reach of the hunters, it was shot and then retrieved using an iron rod with a screw on the far end. If it was hiding, it was smoked out and suffocated.[14][17][21] The minks' nocturnal behavior may have been caused from pressure by fur traders who hunted them in daylight.[16]

Since the remains of brain cases found in shell middens are broken and many of the bones found exhibit cut marks, it is assumed that the sea mink was hunted by Native Americans for food, and possibly for exchange and ceremonial purposes.[9][14][18] One study looking at the remains in shell middens in Penobscot Bay reported that sea mink craniums were intact, more so than that of other animals found, implying that they were specifically placed there.[24] Males were more often collected than females.[5]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T40784A45204492.en
    . Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Neogale macrodon. NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Neovison macrodon". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. OCLC 62265494
    .
  5. ^
    JSTOR 4498666
    .
  6. ^
    doi:10.5479/si.00963801.26-1336.887
    .
  7. ^
    doi:10.1006/qres.2001.2266
    .
  8. OCLC 880833145
    .
  9. ^
    doi:10.2475/ajs.s4-31.183.227
    .
  10. ^
    S2CID 128753557
    .
  11. PMID 22369503
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  12. ^ Abramov, A. V. (2000). "A taxonomic review of the genus Mustela (Mammalia, Carnivora)" (PDF). Zoosystematica Rossica. 8: 357–364.
  13. ^ "Etymology pages "M"". www.scotcat.com. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  14. ^
    doi:10.5479/si.00963801.122-3584.1
    .
  15. S2CID 236299740
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  16. ^
    OCLC 879632158
    .
  17. ^
    doi:10.5479/si.00963801.44-1965.471
    .
  18. ^ a b c d e Black, D. W.; Reading, J. E.; Savage, H. G. (1998). "Archaeological records of the extinct sea mink, Mustela macrodon (Carnivora: Mustelidae), from Canada" (PDF). Canadian Field-Naturalist. 112 (#1): 45–49. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  19. JSTOR 1377035
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  20. ISBN 978-0-947889-30-2
    .
  21. ^ a b Hardy, M. (1903). "The extinct mink from the Maine shell heaps". Forest and Stream. LXI (#I): 125.
  22. S2CID 129877837
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  23. OCLC 872457192
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  24. ISBN 978-0-306-44874-4
    . The Mustela macrodon cranium is much more complete than those from the rest of the midden, adding to the impression that these bones were placed especially in the cache.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to sea minks.
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