Noble Marten (Martes americana nobilis) Revisited: Its Adaptation and Extinction

• Published in: Journal of Mammalogy
• Main Author: Hughes, Susan S.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2009
• Subjects: Feature Articles; American marten; Martes americana
• Online Access: http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/90/1/74; https://doi.org/10.1644/08-MAMM-A-039.1

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.