http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz2k7R6Y-QM
If you look at this, you will see one that is more full-length and
"slimmer", with summer coat probably, and looks like your typical
elongated weasel.

Russia is so lucky - they have so many neat mustelids around. The
person in that video has (or had) many different kinds as pets.

Musetla siberica seems to have many different subspecies as well, from
manchurica, coreanus, quelpartis, up to 26, from 1978, but in 2005, two
researchers proposed two of those subspecies, lutreolina and itatsi,
to be full species, and said there are 12 subspecies, including M.
siberica.

I am not sure if I am allowed to post an article link, but if you are
interested in the phylogeny of the M. siberica and all the subspecies,
there is a very in depth article here:
<http://e-ased.org/Upload/files/e-ased.org/07-Lack%2812-0001%29.141417.pdf>

There is also another phylogenetic study here, which groups M. siberica
closer to weasels, and the mink closer to polecats, and interestingly,
an Asian species of weasel was genetically closer to an American
species, than any other group. it has a very nice study based on DNA
and a nice chart that shows the relationships they found between over a
dozen species. The read is here:
<http://zin.academia.edu/AlexeiAbramov/Papers/1220602/Molecular_phylogeny_and_taxonomy_of_the_genus_Mustela_Mustelidae_Carnivora_inferred_from_mitochondrial_DNA_sequences_New_perspectives_on_phylogenetic_>

According to the DNA research in that paper, ferrets are grouped with
the M. siberica, in a "large weasel" group, but in two separate groups
within that classification.

Anyway - after satisfying my curiosity, all I can really say is I want
to wake up watching a video of that little thing being tickled in the
corner. It has to be about the cutest thing I have ever seen.

[Posted in FML 7532]