Species: Martes americana
American Marten
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Carnivora
Family
Mustelidae
Genus
Martes
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Carnivores
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Carnivora - Mustelidae - Martes - (Wozencraft, in Wilson and Reeder 1993, 2005).
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A medium-sized carnivorous mammal (marten).
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Diet consists mainly of small mammals, birds, insects, carrion. Berries and other vegetable matter eaten in season. Forages in trees and on ground (mostly). Tracks prey, ambushes, robs nests, excavates burrows, uses hunting perches (Spencer and Zielinski 1983). Also exploits subnivean prey (voles, red squirrels, etc.).
Reproduction Comments
Breeds in summer. Implantation is delayed; litter of 1-5 (average 3-4, less when food scarce) is born in spring. Young arre weaned in 6 weeks, apparently independent by August in Maine (Wynne and Sherburne 1984). Males are sexually mature in 1 year, females in 1-2 years.
Ecology Comments
Young may disperse 25 miles or more.
Length
68
Weight
1568
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2005-03-21
Global Status Last Changed
1997-09-26
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S5&CA.BC=S4&CA.LB=S5&CA.MB=S5&CA.NB=S4&CA.NF=S1&CA.NT=S5&CA.NS=S1&CA.NU=SNR&CA.ON=S5&CA.PE=SX&CA.QC=S5&CA.SK=S5&CA.YT=S5&US.AK=S5&US.CA=S3&US.CO=S4&US.DC=SX&US.ID=S5&US.IL=SX&US.ME=S5&US.MD=SX&US.MA=SX&US.MI=S3&US.MN=S4&US.MT=S4&US.NN=SNR&US.NV=S2&US.NH=S2&US.NM=S2&US.NY=S3&US.ND=SX&US.OH=SX&US.OR=S3&US.PA=SX&US.SD=S5&US.UT=S2&US.VT=S1&US.WA=S4&US.WI=S2&US.WY=S3" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
H - 2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - in California and also may have declined on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Few data exist from northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington, but the limited amount of protected public land and absence of reported road kills are reasons for concern for populations in this region. Martens still occur in the central and southern coastal mountains of Oregon.
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)