---
title: "Doninha-japonesa"
description: "Mustela itatsi — Mamíferos. The Japanese weasel (Mustela itatsi) is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the genus Mustela in the family Mustelidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/japanese-weasel
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Doninha-japonesa

> Mustela itatsi — Mamíferos. The Japanese weasel (Mustela itatsi) is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the genus Mustela in the family Mustelidae.

- Scientific name: *Mustela itatsi*
- Category: `mammals` (Mamíferos)
- Habitats: `forest` (Floresta)
- iNaturalist observations: 210
- Wikidata: [Q628006](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q628006)
- iNaturalist taxon: [74671](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74671)

## Names

- en: Japanese Weasel
- de: Japanwiesel
- es: Comadreja japonesa
- fr: Belette du Japon
- pt: Doninha-japonesa
- pl: Łasica japońska

## Countries with the most observations

JP (153)

## Summary

The Japanese weasel (Mustela itatsi) is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the genus Mustela in the family Mustelidae. The most closely related Mustela species is the Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica). Its taxonomic species name, itatsi, is based on the Japanese word for weasel, itachi (イタチ). It is native to Japan where it occurs on the islands of Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku. It has been introduced to Hokkaidō and the Ryukyu Islands to control rodents and has also been introduced to Sakhalin Island in Russia.
It has an orange-brown coloured fur coat with darker markings on the head and varies in size depending on its…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_weasel

## Photo

![Doninha-japonesa](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/japanese-weasel/medium.jpg)

Photo: renshuchu · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/189316765

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/japanese-weasel?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).