marten n : agile slender-bodied arboreal mustelids somewhat larger than weasels [syn: marten cat]

English

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: mar·ten
• Rhymes: -ɑː(r)t(ə)n

Homophones

• martin, Martin

Noun

1. Any carnivorous mammal of the genus Martes in the family Mustelidae.

Derived terms

• American marten
• beech marten
• Japanese marten
• nilgiri marten
• pine marten
• yellow-throated marten

Translations

See also

• ferret
• fisher
• mink
• otter
• sable
• stoat
• weasel
• wolverine

For the Wiltshire village see Marten, Wiltshire. For the town in Bulgaria, see Marten, Bulgaria.

The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. They are slender, agile, animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on the species, and, in many cases, is valued by fur trappers. Martens are carnivorous animals related to wolverines, minks and weasels. Their diet consists of squirrels, mice, rabbits, birds, fish, insects, and eggs, and they will also eat fruit and nuts when these are readily available.

They are solitary animals, meeting only to breed in late spring or early summer. Litters of up to five blind and near-naked kits are born in early Spring. They are weaned after around two months, and leave the mother to fend for themselves at about three to four months of age.

Recent DNA research has shown that the genus Martes is in fact polyphyletic, placing Martes pennanti and Martes americana outside the genus and allying it with Eira and Gulo, to form a new New World clade. The genus first evolved up to seven million years ago, during the Pliocene.

Etymology

The word "marten" is of original Germanic origin. The Modern English "marten" comes from the Middle English "martryn", in turn derived from the Anglo-French "martrine" and Old French "martre". (Compare to French "martes".)

The word for marten in Macedonian, Serbian, Polish, Slovene as well as Croatian is "kuna" and this word has been adopted as the name of the national currency of Croatia.

Species

• American Marten Martes americana
  • Newfoundland Pine Marten Martes americana atrata
• Yellow-throated Marten Martes flavigula
• Beech Marten Martes foina
• Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsii
• Pine Marten Martes martes
• Japanese Marten Martes melampus
• Fisher Martes pennanti
• Sable Martes zibellina

In Popular Culture

• In Cornelia Funke's Inkworld trilogy, the character Dustfinger has two martens, Gwin and later, a younger, friendlier one named Jink.
• In The Amber Spyglass, the third part of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, Lyra Belacqua's dæmon finally settles on the form of a marten.

References