Allegheny Least Weasel (?) Cranium

3D Model

Context: LMC.I.08.15.2.186, Allegheny Least Weasel (?) Cranium Size: length 4.2 cm, width at zygomatic arches 2.2 cm

This little guy was excavated in the mid-1990s by the students of Washington and Lee University’s summer archaeological field school at the Longdale Mining Community in Longdale Furnace, Virginia, U.S.A. Our 2023-2025 zooarchaeological research on the Longdale bones has tentatively identified it as an Allegheny Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis allegheniensis) a small member of the taxonomic family Mustelidae. According to the VA Dept of Wildlife Resources, they are the smallest carnivore in Virginia!

Note that the zygomatic arches were present and do connect but they are so small and thin that they did not scan in the model!

If you have any comments or insights into our species ID, please let us know below!

This 3d model is dedicated to the March Mammal Madness community, who are always fans of a bitey mustelid! Play MMM with your students! https://libguides.asu.edu/MarchMammalMadness