| Yellow-throated marten Temporal range:Pliocene – Recent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Martes flavigula indochinensis Kaeng Krachan National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | Martes |
| Species: | M. flavigula |
| Binomial name | |
| Martes flavigula Boddaert, 1785 | |
| Subspecies | |
| |
 | |
| Yellow-throated marten range | |
| Synonyms | |
Charronia flavigula(Boddaert) | |
Theyellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula) is amartenspecies native to theHimalayas,Southeast andEast Asia. Its coat is bright yellow-golden, and its head and back are distinctly darker, blending together black, white, golden-yellow and brown. It is the second-largest marten in theOld World, after theNilgiri marten,[3] with its tail making up more than half its body length.
It is anomnivore, whose sources of food range fromfruit andnectar toinvertebrates,rodents,lagomorphs,reptiles andbirds, and to smallprimates andungulates. It is listed asleast concern on theIUCN Red List due to its wide distribution, stable population, occurrence in a number of protected areas and an apparent lack of threats.
The yellow-throated marten has short bright brownish-yellow fur, a blackish brown pointed head, reddish cheeks, light brown chin and lower lips; the chest and lower part of the throat are orange-golden, and flanks and belly are bright yellowish. The back of the ears is black, the inner portions are yellowish grey. The front paws, lower forelimbs are black. The tail is black above with a greyish brown base and a lighter tip.[4]It is robust and muscular, has an elongated thorax, a long neck and a long tail, which is about 2/3 as long as its body. The limbs are relatively short and strong, with broad paws.[5] The ears are large and broad with rounded tips. The soles of the feet are covered with coarse, flexible hairs, though the digital and foot pads are naked and the paws are weakly furred.[4] Thebaculum is S-shaped, with four blunt processes occurring on the tip. It is larger than other Old World martens; males measure 50–72 cm (20–28 in) in body length, while females measure 50–62 cm (20–24 in). Males weigh 2.5–5.7 kg (5.5–12.6 lb), while females weigh 1.6–3.8 kg (3.5–8.4 lb).[6] Theanal glands sport two unusual protuberances, which secrete a strong smelling liquid for defensive purposes.[7]
The yellow-throated marten occurs in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in theHimalayas ofIndia,Nepal andBhutan, continentalsouthern China andTaiwan, theKorean Peninsula and easternRussia. In the south, its range extends toBangladesh,Myanmar,Thailand, theMalay Peninsula,Laos,Cambodia andVietnam.[1]
InPakistan, it was recorded inMusk Deer National Park.[8]In Nepal'sKanchenjunga Conservation Area, it has been recorded up to an elevation of 4,510 m (14,800 ft) in alpine meadow.[9]
In northeasternIndia, it has been reported in northernWest Bengal,Arunachal Pradesh,Manipur andAssam. InIndonesia it occurs inBorneo,Sumatra, andJava.[10]
The yellow-throated marten holds extensive, but not permanent,home ranges. It actively patrols its territory, having been known to cover 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) in a single day and night. It primarily hunts on the ground, but can climb trees proficiently, being capable of making jumps up to 8–9 m (26–30 ft) between branches. After March snowfalls, the yellow-throated marten restricts its activities to treetops.[11]
The yellow-throated marten is adiurnal hunter, which usually hunts in pairs, but may also hunt in packs of three or more. It preys onrats,mice,hares,snakes,lizards,eggs and ground nesting birds such aspheasants andfrancolins. It is reported to killcats andpoultry. It has been known to feed on human corpses, and was once thought to be able to attack an unarmed man in groups of three to four.[12] It preys on smallungulates and smaller marten species, such assables.[13] In the Himalayas and Myanmar, it is reported to frequently killmuntjac fawns,[12] while inUssuriland the base of its diet consists ofmusk deer, particularly in winter. Two or three yellow-throated martens can consume a musk deer carcass in 2 to 3 days. It also kills the young of larger ungulate species within a weight range of 10–12 kg (22–26 lb), including youngspotted deer,roe deer andgoral.[13]Wild boar piglets are also taken on occasion. It has also been reported to trailtigers and feed on their kills.[14]In China, it preys ongiant panda cubs.[15]
It supplements its diet withnectar andfruit, and is therefore considered to be an importantseed disperser.[16]
Estrus occurs twice a year, from mid-February to late March and from late June to early August. During these periods, the males fight each other for access to females. Litters typically consist of two or three kits and rarely four.[14]
The yellow-throated marten has few predators, but occasionally may fall foul of larger carnivores; remains of sporadic individuals have turned up in the scat or stomachs ofSiberian tigers (Panthera tigris) andAsian black bears (Ursus thibetanus).[17][18] Amountain hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis) killed an adult yellow-throated marten.[19]
The yellow-throated marten is listed asleast concern on theIUCN Red List due to its wide distribution and occurrence in protected areas across its range; the global population is stable, and threats are apparently lacking.[1]
The first written description of the yellow-throated marten in theWestern World is given byThomas Pennant in hisHistory of Quadrupeds (1781), in which he named it "White-cheeked Weasel".Pieter Boddaert featured it in hisElenchus Animalium with the nameMustela flavigula. For a long period after theElenchus' publication, the existence of the yellow-throated marten was considered doubtful by many zoologists, until a skin was presented to the Museum of the East India Company in 1824 byThomas Hardwicke.[20]
As of 2005[update], nine subspecies are recognized.[21]
| Subspecies | Trinomial authority | Description | Range | Synonyms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiankharza (M. f. flavigula) | Bodaert, 1785 | A large subspecies distinguished by the absence of a naked area of skin above the plantar pad of the hind foot, a larger mat of hair between the plantar and carpal pads of the forefoot and by its longer, more luxuriant winter coat[22] | Jammu & Kashmir eastwards throughNorthern India, theHimalayas toAssam, upperBurma, and southeasternTibet and southernKham | chrysogaster (C. E. H. Smith, 1842) hardwickei (Horsfield, 1828) |
| Amur yellow-throated marten (M. f. borealis) | Radde, 1862 | Distinguished fromflavigula by its denser and longer winter fur and somewhat larger general dimensions.[23] | Amur andPrimorsky Krais, formerManchuria and theKorean Peninsula | koreana (Mori, 1922) |
| Formosan yellow-throated marten (M. f. chrysospila)
| Swinhoe, 1866 | Taiwan | xanthospila (Swinhoe, 1870) | |
| Hainan yellow-throated marten (M. f. hainana) | Hsu and Wu, 1981 | Hainan island | ||
| Sumatran yellow-throated marten (M. f. henrici) | Schinz, 1845 | Sumatra | ||
| Indochinese yellow-throated marten (M. f. indochinensis)
| Kloss, 1916 | Distinguished fromflavigula by the presence of a naked area of skin above the plantar pad of the hind feet and the area between the plantar and carpal pads on the forefeet. The winter coat is shorter and less luxuriant, with the color being paler, rather yellower on the shoulders and upper back, the loins are less deeply pigmented and the nape is more profusely speckled with yellow. The belly is a dirty white in color and the throat pale yellow.[24] | NorthernTenasserim,Thailand andVietnam | |
| Malaysian yellow-throated marten (M. f. peninsularis) | Bonhote, 1901 | Similar toindochinensis, but distinguished by its brown, rather than black, head, with the nape being the same color as the shoulders, being usually buff or yellowish brown. The shoulders and upper back are not as yellow as inindochinensis and the abdomen is always darkish brown, while the throat varies from orange-yellow to cream. The fur is short and thin[25] | Southern Tenasserim and theMalay Peninsula | |
| Javan yellow-throated marten (M. f. robinsoni) | Pocock, 1936 | westernJava | ||
| Bornean yellow-throated marten (M. f. saba)
| Chasen and Kloss, 1931 | Borneo |
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