| Nilgiri marten | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | Martes |
| Species: | M. gwatkinsii |
| Binomial name | |
| Martes gwatkinsii (Horsfield, 1851) | |
 | |
| Nilgiri marten range | |
| Synonyms | |
Charronia gwatkinsii | |
TheNilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii) is the onlymarten species native to southernIndia. It lives in the hills of theNilgiris and parts of theWestern Ghats. With only around a thousand members left it is listed asvulnerable on theIUCN Red List.[1]
The Nilgiri marten was described byThomas Horsfield based on a skin in the museum of the East India Company; it is named after the collector Reynolds Gwatkins.[3]
The Nilgiri marten is deep brown from head to rump, with the forequarters being almost reddish, with a bright throat ranging in colour from yellow to orange. It has a prominent frontalconcavity and is larger than theyellow-throated marten.[4]It is about 55–65 cm (22–26 in) long from head to vent and has a tail of 40–45 cm (16–18 in). It weighs about 2.1 kg (4.6 lb).[5]: 6
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The Nilgiri marten mainly inhabits theshola grasslands andSouth Western Ghats montane rain forests, and occasionally the adjacentSouth Western Ghats moist deciduous forests and commercial plantations, that span theWestern Ghats in theSouth Indian states ofKarnataka,Kerala andTamil Nadu. TheNilgiri Hills form the center of its range, but sightings have also been reported inCharmadi Ghat and in theNeyyar andPeppara Wildlife Sanctuaries.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
The Nilgiri marten isdiurnal. It is mainlyarboreal, but descends to the ground occasionally. It isomnivorous andpreys onbirds, small mammals (including the Malabar giant squirrel) and insects such ascicadas.[12][4] It has also been observed feeding on a variety of fruits and seeds.[13]
