What is "mustelidae"

Mustelidae \Mustelidae\ prop. n. A natural family of fissiped fur-bearing carnivorous mammals including the weasels; polecats; ferrets; minks; fishers; otters; badgers; skunks; wolverines; and martens.

Syn: family Mustelidae.

Mustelidae (from Latin mustela, weasel) is a family of carnivorous mammals, including the otter, badger, weasel, marten, ferret, mink and wolverine. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora. The internal classification is still disputed, with rival proposals containing between two and eight subfamilies. One study, published in 2008, questions the long-accepted Mustelinae subfamily, and suggests that Mustelidae consist of four major clades and three much smaller lineages.