Noble Marten (Martes americana nobilis) Revisited: Its Adaptation and Extinction
The cause of extinction of the noble marten ( Martes americana nobilis ), as well as its taxonomic position, has been the subject of debate in recent years. This extinct marten, a close relative of the extant American marten ( Martes americana ), is known from 18 sites in western North America, most...
| Published in: | Journal of Mammalogy |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2009
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/90/1/74 https://doi.org/10.1644/08-MAMM-A-039.1 |
| Summary: | The cause of extinction of the noble marten ( Martes americana nobilis ), as well as its taxonomic position, has been the subject of debate in recent years. This extinct marten, a close relative of the extant American marten ( Martes americana ), is known from 18 sites in western North America, most dating to the late Pleistocene. Because boreal fauna were associated with the late-Pleistocene noble marten, researchers generally believed that it inhabited boreal forests like the American marten, and competition between the 2 may have caused its extinction. Recent discoveries of noble martens associated with xeric fauna from Holocene contexts have called these assumptions into question. I explore the adaptation and habitat of the noble marten with an analysis of its faunal associations and find-site locations. The analysis suggests that the noble marten was adapted to open, mesic grasslands in montane foothills, and was likely not sympatric with the American marten. I also introduce a new Holocene noble marten specimen, a right mandible dating to 6,400 years ago, from Mummy Cave, an archaeological site in northwestern Wyoming. |
|---|