Marten
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[Photo] Sable Marten, Zobel (Martes zibellina). License: public domain, taken from "Brehms Tierleben" (1887)

The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. Martens are carnivorous animals related to wolverines, minks and weasels. Many are tree-dwellers, preying most commonly on squirrels. Their diet also consists of birds, fish, insects and eggs. Recent DNA research has shown that the genus Martes is in fact polyphyletic, placing Martes pennanti and Martes americana outside the genus and allying it with Eira and Gulo, to form a new New World clade.

Etymology
The word "marten" is of original Germanic origin. The Modern English "marten" comes from the Middle English "martryn", in turn derived from the Anglo-French "martrine" and Old French "martre". (Compare to French "martes".)

The word for marten in Croatian is "kuna" and this word has been adopted as the name of the national currency of Croatia.

Species
American Marten Martes americana
Yellow-throated Marten Martes flavigula
Beech Marten Martes foina
Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsii
Pine Marten Martes martes
Japanese Marten Martes melampus
Fisher Martes pennanti
Sable Martes zibellina

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marten

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