Martes zibellina

• Main Authors: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Lynx Edicions 2009
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Carnivora; Mustelidae; Martes; Martes zibellina; taiga; Siberia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5714079; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/038F87D4CA5DFFB2CAAC36CAF8BEF3BF

16. Sable Martes zibellina French: Martre zibeline / German: Zobel / Spanish: Marta cibelina Taxonomy. Mustela zibellina Linnaeus, 1758, Russia. Thirty subspecies have been proposed, but a taxonomic revision is needed. Distribution. China, Japan (Hokkaido), Mongolia, North Korea, and Russia. Descriptive notes. Head-body 38-56 cm (males), 35-51 cm (females); tail 12-19 cm (males), 11.5-17.2 cm (females); weight 800-1800 g (males), 700-1560 g (females), adult males are slightly larger than females. The Sable has a long body and short legs, and a short bushy tail around a third of the head and body length. The pelage is long and silky, and varies from pale grayish-brown to dark brown, almost black. The summer pelageis shorter and darker. The top of the head is lighter than the body, and the white neck patch is vestigial. The soles are covered with extremely dense, stiff hairs. The skull is long and narrow. Dental formula: I 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4,M 1/2 = 38. Habitat. Sables are found in deciduous and coniferous forests, and often occur in mountain regions and near streams. They typically prefer mature forests of large trees with a dense canopy. In the Daxinganling Mountains, China, Sables prefer late succession mixed forests, with large trees and coarse woody debris, intermediate to dense tree canopy cover, and high densities and diameters of larch tree holes. They avoid open areas, but use the middle of slopes and slope bottoms, and rest on ridge tops with abundant logs, boles, or roots. Food and Feeding. The diet consists mostly of small mammals (rodents, pikas, hares), but also includes birds, reptiles, amphibians,fish, insects, fruits, honey, nuts, and berries. The summer diet in the Middle Yenisei taiga, Siberia, comprises microtine rodents, mainly Northern Red-backed Voles Clethrionomys rutilus (52-3% of the biomass). Plant food (seeds of Siberian pine Pinus sibirica and berries of Vaccinium sp.) is also frequently eaten (79-4% of scats and 19-9% of biomass). Shrews, birds, and insects are supplementary food (25% ...