Species of carnivore From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Japanese marten (Martes melampus), also called 日本のマーテン in Japanese (English: Nihon no māten) is a Japanese endemic species of mustelid in the genus Martes (the Martens), a group of mostly-carnivorous and highly active, arboreal mammals. Amongst their closest extant relatives are the badgers, ferrets, mink, otters, weasels and wolverine.[2]
| Japanese marten | |
|---|---|
| |
| A stuffed specimen exhibited in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | Martes |
| Species: | M. melampus |
| Binomial name | |
| Martes melampus (Wagner, 1841) | |
 | |
| Japanese marten range | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Crocutictis melampus | |
M. melampus measures around 0.5 m (1.6 ft) in length, typically, not including their nearly-20 cm (8 in)-long tail, weighing between 1 and 1.5 kg (2.2 and 3.3 lb). Males are larger, generally, than females. The species' pelage varies in colour throughout the seasons and depending on the individual's age, from darker brown to dull yellow, bronze or orange, often with a cream-coloured throat.[3]
Both male and female Japanese marten are highly territorial; the size of each individual's respective home territory depends on local resource and shelter availability.[2]
The Japanese marten is typically not a picky eater, being "opportunistically" omnivorous (despite its classification in the order Carnivora); insects, fruits, nuts and seeds are all consumed when available, though small mammals and rodents (such as squirrels, rats and mice) are likely to comprise the bulk of their diet, as well as various shrews, rabbits and hares. As with most mustelid species, the Japanese marten is a highly focused, athletic hunter, able to subdue prey roughly twice their own size, if necessary. In addition to small mammals and birds, they will routinely descend from the treetops to pursue various fish, frogs, lizards and snakes. Carrion may also be consumed when available.[3]
The two confirmed subspecies of Japanese marten are:
The Japanese marten is closely related to the sable (M. zibellina), another arboreal marten species, with which it is sympatric on Hokkaido. Genetic analyses suggest the two species diverged some 1.8 million years ago (Hosoda et al. 1999; Kurose et al. 1999).
The Japanese marten's presence has been recorded in Korea, with the suggested subspecies Martes melampus coreensis, although no locality details have proven a wild origin, nor has a native population yet been confirmed.[2]
The Japanese marten breeds between March and the middle of May. They usually produce one kit (offspring); however, they can have up to five kits per mating season. The offspring are born blind and deaf. As it is a mammal, the female produces milk for her young offspring, but by 3–4 months of age the kits are able to hunt, and they soon leave their mother. They mature sexually between 1 and 2 years old. Average lifespan in the wild is unknown, although a specimen in captivity lived for a little more than 12 years.[2]
After reaching maturity, young martens often try to establish their territory. They mark their territory with scent marking.[3]
Japanese martens live in the boreal forests on the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Sado, Shikoku and Tsushima. In the winter, martens tend to go to the forests where they can get the most prey. They tend to prefer old growth forests because of the ways the creatures have specialized[clarification needed] and due to their long lifespan. Thus martens may be useful in assessing the health of the forest. However, in the summer, their habitat and diet become much more generalized, allowing them to live in a much more varied environment.[4]
One of the biggest roles martens play in the environment is seed dispersal. Many fleshy fruits rely on birds and bats to disperse their seeds; however, in more northern climates, the numbers of these species decrease. With the decrease of these species also comes a decrease in seed dispersal. In these areas, carnivores with omnivorous diets, like the Japanese marten, can become the vector of dispersal. These carnivores prove to be good dispersal mechanisms because they often have large home ranges leading to dispersal farther from the parent. Furthermore, since the carnivores are usually larger than birds or bats, they can carry and disperse larger seeds. Around 62% of the Japanese martens' feces contained one or more seeds.[5]
Japanese martens have both positive and negative impacts on human activities in their habitats. As a positive, the martens prey on Japanese hares (Lepus brachyurus), which lower the quality of trees by their browsing. However, their prey also can include many insects which aid agriculture.[3]
The biggest threat to the Japanese marten is the logging industry, which targets its preferred habitat of well-established forests. The industry often clear cuts forests quickly destroying the creatures habitat without allowing it to recover. This practice also causes insularization of marten populations, in turn causing changes in foraging behaviors and the decrease of the genetic pool.[4] Furthermore, pine plantations in their ecosystems do not contain important food for the martens.[3]
Steps have been taken to try to conserve the martens. The most common are regulations on trapping.[4] The species was named as a Natural Monument Species in Japan in 1971, drawing attention to the species' vulnerability. The species also has been given legal protection on Tsushima Islands.[3]
In the Iga region, Mie Prefecture, is the saying, "the fox has seven disguises, the tanuki has eight, and the marten has nine," and a legend relates how the marten has greater ability in shapeshifting than the fox (kitsune) or tanuki. In the Akita Prefecture and the Ishikawa Prefecture, if a marten crosses in front of someone, it is said to be an omen for bad luck (the weasel has the same kind of legend), and in the Hiroshima Prefecture, if one kills a marten, one is said to soon encounter a fire. In the Fukushima Prefecture, they are also called heko, fuchikari, komono, and haya, and they are said to be those who have died in avalanches in disguise.[6]
In the collection of yōkai depictions, the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Sekien Toriyama, they were depicted under the title "鼬", but this was read not as "itachi" but rather "ten",[7] and "ten" are weasels that have reached several years of age and became yōkai that have acquired supernatural powers.[8] In the depiction, several martens have gathered together above a ladder and created a column of fire, and one fear about them was that if martens that have gathered together in this form appear next to a house, the house would catch on fire.[9]
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