Martes caurina

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Martes caurina
Martes caurina in Lassen National Forest in California

Martes caurina in Lassen National Forest in California

Systematics
Subordination : Canine (Caniformia)
Superfamily : Marten relatives (Musteloidea)
Family : Marten (Mustelidae)
Subfamily : Guloninae
Genre : Real marten ( martes )
Type : Martes caurina
Scientific name
Martes caurina
( Merriam , 1890)

Martes caurina is a species of predator from the genus of the real marten that is widespreadin western North America from the Pacific coast of California to southeastern Alaska and inland to Wyoming , Montana and Idaho . It looksvery similar tothe spruce marten and is sometimes viewed as a subspecies thereof.

features

Externally, Martes caurina can hardly be distinguished from the spruce marten ( see description of characteristics there ). Merriam stated in its first description that the throat patch of Martes caurina is more orange-red in color, while the throat patch of the spruce marten is yellow or whitish. In addition, the snout of the former is wider and shorter, the tympanic bladder (bulla auditiva or bulla tympanica), a bone capsule that surrounds parts of the middle and inner ear, is shorter and less distended, the frontal bone is wider, the first upper premolars in the upper and lower jaws are narrower, the upper molars are larger.

Habitat and way of life

In the coastal forests of California, Martes caurina occurs mainly in larger, closed forests with tall, old trees and a dense, spatially extensive shrub layer. Martes caurina feeds mainly on medium-sized squirrel species in California . Chipmunks , flying squirrels and birds are also preyed relatively often .

Systematics

Martes caurina was described as an independent species in 1890 by the American zoologist Clinton Hart Merriam . Wright found in 1953 that Martes caurina in western Montana hybridized with the spruce marten, and made the former a subspecies of the spruce marten. Martes caurina was later treated as a subspecies of the spruce marten in various zoological reference works and standard works . Carr and Hicks examined the gene flow between the two forms as early as 1997 and came to the conclusion that Martes caurina must be a separate species. Later research confirms this. The American Society of Mammalogists now recognizes Martes caurina as an independent species. Both forms probably survived the Ice Age in different southern refuges ( Martes caurina in the west and the spruce marten in the east of the USA) and were thereby isolated from each other. Today both species live largely allopatric in western North America . Both species hybridize with one another in southern Montana and on Kuiu Island off the coast of southeast Alaska.

supporting documents

  1. ^ A b C. Hart Merriam: Description of a new marten ( Mustela caurina ) from the north-west coast region of the United States. North American Fauna, 4, 1890, pp. 27-29. PDF
  2. ^ A b Serge Larivière & Andrew P. Jennings: Family Mustelidae (Weasels and relatives). in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 1 Carnivores. Lynx Editions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 . P. 628.
  3. ↑ Keith M. Slauson & William J. Zielinski: Seasonal specialization in diet of the Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis) in California and the importance of prey size. Journal of Mammalogy 98 (6), 2017, pp. 1697–1708, DOI: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyx118
  4. ^ Philip L. Wright: Intergradation between Martes americana and Martes caurina in western Montana. Journal of Mammalogy 34 (1), 1953, pp. 74-86 DOI: 10.2307 / 1375946
  5. ↑ Martes americana In: DE Wilson, DM Reeder: Mammal Species of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 . on-line
  6. ^ A b Steven M. Carr, SA Hicks: Are there two species of marten in North America? Genetic and evolutionary relationships within Martes. in Martes: Taxonomy Ecology Techniques and Management (Eds. Proulx G, Bryant HN, Woodard PM) pp. 15-28. The Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, 1997.
  7. ^ A b Karen D. Stone, Joseph A. Cook: Molecular evolution of the holarctic genus Martes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24, 2002, pp 169-179, DOI: 10.1016 / S1055-7903 (02) 00229-4
  8. ↑ a b c Maureen P. Small, Karen D. Stone et al. Joseph A. Cook: American marten (Martes americana) in the Pacific Northwest: Population differentiation across a landscape fragmented in time and space. Molecular Ecology 12 (1), 2003, pp. 89-103, DOI: 10.1046 / j.1365-294X.2003.01720.x
  9. ↑ Dawson, NG and JA Cook: Behind the genes: diversification of North American martens (Martes americana and M. caurina). DOI: 10.7591 / 9780801466076-005 pp. 23-38 in KB Aubry, WJ Zielinski, MG Raphael and SW Buskirk, editors. Biology and conservation of martens, sables, and fishers: a new synthesis. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 2012.
  10. ^ Pacific Marten page of the American Society of Mammalogists