Martes zibellina

Geographic Range

Martes zibellina is found throughout northern Asia, once spanning the area from Scandinavia to northern China (Ognev, 1962). Its current distribution does not extend as far west, but it is still found throughout Siberia into northern China.

• Biogeographic Regions
• palearctic palearctic
  • native native

Habitat

This species is found in the dense taiga forests, flatlands, and mountain regions of northern Asia (Grizimek , 1990). M. zibellina are found in the spruce and cedar forests of eastern Siberia and the larch and pine forests of western Siberia. It seems only to avoid extremely barren high mountain tops (Ognev, 1962). The species is mostly terrestrial, hunting and constructing dens on the forest floor (Ognev, 1962).

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• taiga taiga
• forest forest

Physical Description

M. zibellina shows sexual dimorphism between males and females. Males have a body length between 380 -560 mm and a tail length between 90-120 mm. The weight of males ranges between 880-1800 grams while females weigh between 700 and 1560 grams. Female body length ranges between 350 and 510 mm and their tail length is 72-115 mm (Walker, 1995). The winter pelage is longer and more luxurious than the summer coat (Ognev, 1962). Fur color ranges from light to dark brown in different sub-species with individual fur color being lighter ventrally and darker on the back and legs (Gizimek, 1990). Individuals also display a light patch of fur on their throat which may be gray, white, or a pale yellow (Ognev, 1962).

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

Reproduction

Males are observed to create ruts, or shallow grooves in the snow about one meter long, accompanied with frequent urination (Tarasov, 1975). Mating takes place between June 15th and August 15th, with the date varying depending on geographic locality (Gizimek, 1990; Ognev, 1962). In areas where individuals are scarce, courting rituals involve running, jumping, and "cat-like rumbling" between males and females, but in areas where male ranges overlap competition for mates can lead to violent battles (Ognev, 1962).

M. zibellina enters heat in the spring. After insemination the blastocyst does not implant into the uteran wall of the female. Implantation occurs about eight months later and embryonic development takes only 25-30 days (Gizimek, 1990). The total pregnancy lasts from 250-300 days with females giving birth to litters ranging in size from 1-7 individuals, but smaller litters of 2-3 individuals are more common. Paternal care has been observed in some individuals as males protect the females' territory and have even been observed to provide food for nursing mothers and their litters (Tarasov, 1975)

• Key Reproductive Features
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• delayed implantation delayed implantation

Newly born young enter the world helpless, with unopened eyes and a very thin layer of hair (Grizimek, 1990). Newborns weigh between 25 and 35 grams and average 10cm in length (Grizimek, 1990 and Ognev, 1962). M. zibellina open their eyes between 30 and 36 days and leave the nest shortly afterwards (Grizimek, 1990; Walker, 1995). Seven weeks after birth, the young are weaned and are given regurgitated food by their mother (Ognev, 1962). M. zibellina reach sexual maturity in their second year of life (Walker, 1995).

• Parental Investment
• altricial altricial
• male parental care male parental care
• female parental care female parental care

Lifespan/Longevity

On fur farms individuals have been observed to live up to 18 years, while individuals in the wild probably have a maximum lifespan of 8 years (Tarasov, 1975). Roughly two-thirds of the wild sable population is composed of individuals under two years of age (Tarasov, 1975)

Behavior

Individuals are diurnal, using their sense of smell and hearing to hunt for small prey (Ognev, 1962). M. zibellina have been observed to hide in their dens for days during inclimate periods such as snow storms, or when they are being hunted by humans (Ognev, 1962). Although potentially vicious in the wild, accounts of domesticated individuals have described M. zibellina as playful, curious, and tame if taken from their mother at a young age (Ognev, 1962).

• Key Behaviors
• motile motile

Communication and Perception

• Perception Channels
• tactile tactile
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

M. zibellina are primarily carnivorous feeding on mice, chipmunks, squirrels, bird eggs, small birds, and even fish (Ognev, 1962). Individuals eat berries, cedar nuts, and vegetation when primary food sources are scare (Ognev, 1962). When weather conditions are exteme M. zibellina stores prey inside its den to sustain itself until it can hunt again (Ognev, 1962).

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • eats terrestrial vertebrates
  • piscivore piscivore
  • eats eggs

• Animal Foods
• birds
• mammals
• fish
• eggs

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit

• Foraging Behavior
• stores or caches food stores or caches food

Predation

M. zibellina is well equipped with sharp claws and sharp teeth to defend itself against non-human predators.

Ecosystem Roles

M. zibellina is a major predator of small rodents in northern Asia and Siberia.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

M. zibellina has been hunted for its fur throughout human history and population numbers had been severely reduced because of extensive hunting early this century (Grizimek, 1990). Hunting is only allowed by licensed persons now and fur farms have been established to allow wild populations to grow. These measures have allowed M. zibellina populations to grow and reestablish the wider range that they once occupied in the taiga (Grizimek, 1990)

Conservation Status

IUCN lists one subspecies, M. zibellina brachyurus (Japanese Sable) as "data deficient", but granted no special status to the species in general. was listed under appendix 1 status in 1994.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Jeremy Bates (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ondrej Podlaha (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

References

Nowak, R. 1995. "Walker's Mammals of the World Online - The John Hopkins University Press" (On-line). Accessed November 18th, 2001 at http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walker/ .

Ognev, S. 1962. Mammals of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia . Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translations.

Tarasov, P. 1975. Intraspecific Relations in Sable and Ermine. Pp. 45-54 in Mustelids: Some Soviet research . Boston Spa: British Liabrary Lending Division.

1990. Grizimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals Volume 3 . New York: McGraw-Hill.