Neogale Skull Replica measures 3.1 inches. Neogale Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). Made in USA. Known as the American Mink. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.
The American Mink or Neogale is found throughout the United States, appearing in parts of every state except Arizona. Adult American Mink or N. vison grow to about 2 feet in length, with up to half of this length being the tail.
A member of the weasel family, American Minks are successful carnivores feeding on small vertebrates and occasional insects.
The American Mink or Neogale winter fur is denser, longer, softer, and more close-fitting than that of the European mink. The winter fur’s color is generally very dark blackish-tawny to light-tawny. Color is evenly distributed over all the body, with the under side being only slightly lighter than the back.
The guard hairs are bright and dark-tawny, often approaching black on the spine. The underfur on the back is very wavy and grayish-tawny with a bluish tint.
The tail is darker than the trunk and sometimes becomes pure black on the tip. The chin and lower lip are white. The summer fur is generally shorter, sparser and duller than the winter fur.
The Neogales thick underfur and oily guard hairs render the pelage water-resistant, with the length of the guard hairs being intermediate between those of otters and polecats, thus indicating the American mink or N. vison is incompletely adapted to an aquatic life. It molts twice a year, during spring and autumn.
The American Mink or Neogale is a semi-aquatic species of mustelidae native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America.
The Neogale lives in densely vegetated streams and other aquatic areas. United States and Canada.
The Neogale is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human introduction has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia, and South America.
Because of range expansion, the American mink is classed as a least-concern species by the IUCN.
The American mink was formerly thought to be the only extant member of the genus Neovison following the extinction of the sea mink (N. macrodon), but recent studies, followed by taxonomic authorities, have reclassified it and the sea mink within the genus Neogale, which also contains a few New World weasel species.
In its introduced range in Europe it has been classified as an invasive species linked to declines in European mink, Pyrenean desman, and water vole populations.
It is the animal most frequently farmed for its fur, exceeding the silver fox, sable, marten, and skunk in economic importance.
As a species, the American mink represents a more specialized form than the European mink in the direction of carnivory, as indicated by the more developed structure of the skull.
Fossil records of the American mink or Neogale go back as far as the Irvingtonian, though the species is uncommon among Pleistocene animals. Its fossil range corresponds with the species’ current natural range.
The American minks of the Pleistocene did not differ much in size or morphology from modern populations, though a slight trend toward increased size is apparent from the Irvingtonian through to the Illinoian and Wisconsinan periods.
The American mink or Neovison has been recorded to hybridize with European minks and polecats in captivity, though the hybrid embryos of the American and European minks are usually reabsorbed.