the marten-good carnivores is very manifold. One structures it in 5 subfamilies after its main-manifestations:
1. Wieselartige (ermine), 2. Honey-badgers, 3. Badgers, 4. Skunks and 5. Otters, altogether 24 types and approximately 70 types. The smallest type is the dwarf or mouse-weasel (the smallest carnivore at all) with a length of 13-19 cm and the biggest of the giant-otters with 100-150 cm of length; if one considers the tail to be one of it, one even comes until on 2 m.
Spread Martens live in all continents today after the human being naturalized it in Australia, New Zealand and some islands Ozeaniens where they were missing originally.
Shape The family of the martens lodges quite different animals externally so that one can bring this heterogeneous group badly down to a "common denominator." With all the caution, one can it like follows describes: Smallest until moderate-sized country-carnivores, feet normally with 5 toes; the martens are toes, semi-soles, or Vollsohlengänger with short, partially half retractable claws. Water-living types (otters) possess swimming-skins between the toes. Particularly these types, but also many other Musteliden possess a dense, high-quality fur why many animals fall victim to the adjustments of the human being. As the the most originally still living country-carnivores, who properly still are close the Urbildern of the first small carnivores, the martens possess a typical carnivore-denture with 32-38 teeth. The joint of the lower jaw sits so rigidly in the upper jaw that only guts-final-squashing the martens and doesn't grind can chew.
All types have a Stinkdrüse, that brought (skunk, Stinkdachs, tiger-polecat) some representatives of this animal-group the name "Stänker", at the anus. From this gland, the martens spray a smelly secretion, that primarily serves the protection and the enemy-defense. The pestilence-good smell of the secretion lets each robbery-enemy followed a representative of this family only once. Several types not only spray its "Stinkstoff" broadly into the area but is in the situation, that spray-ray aimed extremely exactly, to be directed toward face and eyes of the opponent; here, another strong attraction-effect is envolved to the unpleasant smell, that now until the blindness the to the victim of become enemy can lead.
Reproduction Martens are the most important Vertilger of the Nager why they are in the nature for the balance of particular importance. Adjusted at the big food-offer, the descendant-number of the martens is quite big. Up to 13 unseeing, powerless kids comes in well protected caves to the world in the spring and is taken care of intensively only by the mother; because many martens often live in pairs only few hours during the heat-time (Ranz) and are strict loners otherwise.
So that the Aufzucht of the young falls into the favorable summertime, we get a so-called germ-silence with many martens. On this occasion, the egg already fertilized in the summer goes through a biological halt over 6-7 months. If the winter is past, the Keimfurchungen start at the fertilized egg, and the new life develops. From now on reckoned, the Tragzeit amounts to 5-8 weeks.
All Musteliden are very voice-joyful. We find in the sexual-behavioral-circle of chirping, trilling and growling contact-lutes. When meeting of two animals outside the heat-time or rivaling males during the heat, one rarely doesn't hear keckernde, screeching Warn and Drohlaute, also fights, accompanies from gellendem fury-shouting.
Real martens (type Martes)) they are forest-inhabitants, who move excellently also in the branches of the trees, with exception of the stone-marten (see below). They constantly mark on that occasion with help of the Praegenitaldrüse situated at the rear-body as well as with urine. Since the same ways frequently are again-used, one speaks also of marten-passports, that can frequently drag on kilometer-far. Thanks to a particular Sperrmechanik, martens are capable to bend the lower jaw up to 90° from the upper jaw so that they themselves can carry away bigger loot, especially eggs, easily. The body is long-stretched and very movable, also the legs are long, the tail is bushy, and the ear-mussels are rather big. There are 8 types within the type of the actual martens, Martes.
Native martens As typical representatives of the marten-family, these two types of the real martens (subfamily Wieselartige, Mustelinae) are described here nearer:
Tree or noble-martens (Martes martes)) The tree-marten was originally wide widespread over Europe and Asia, however, bejagt became so strongly because of its extraordinarily fine and valuable fur that it had to be put in wide areas under strict hunt-protection in order to prevent an extermination of this type of animal.
Way of life The most frequently, the noble-marten is to be found in big, interrelated forest-areas of human settlement-areas. This is also a reason for it, why it pets as well as never follows and as distinct Kulturflüchter can be valid. Animals of mouse - until fawn-size constructs hunt for squirrels its food-source, with what it prefers, does. However, also bumble-bee and wasp-nests, that it excludes, are liked without letting themselves impress from the thorns of the defense-ready insects. Just as gladly, it eats vegetarian food like fruit, nuts and berries. it often lives in orphaned Eichhörnchenkobel or the nests of bigger birds.
Reproduction its 2-5 giving birth bring the female to the world after an extended Tragzeit of approximately 260-268 days (including germ-silence). The 9-12 cm long boys show initially gray on it, but soon marten-nicely brown growing fur already the typical yolk nis of whitish-yellow ungegabelten Kehlfleck.
After 34-38 days, the boys open the eyes and leave the nest for the first time after 7-8 weeks. The sexually mature usually steps in the 2. Year of life one, the life expectancy amounts to 8-10 years.
Stone or house-martens (Martes foina)) The stone-marten lives in as its name already indicates, at the dearest aged field-barn, stables, mounds or rock-caves. With its 11 subtypes, it is virtually represented all over Europe with exception of Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland and Scandinavia. In central-Asia, it is to be found as far as to the Manchuria.
Externally, it differs long in it from the tree-marten until white Kehlfleck forked on the front-legs.
Way of life The stone-marten is more a Kulturfolger and therefore a stronger competitor of the human being in its way of life, although also its merits, Z. B. as Rattenvertilger, its damage, that it prepares at the house-poultry, by far surpasses. it hunts less nightly as the noble-marten and takes also gladly sweet fruit and berries.
its marten-typical killing-type is a fast-acting instinct-action, therefore not at all cruel. With smaller animals, it positions the killing-bite at rear-head or necks, with bigger, it opens the carotid artery. Because blood is one of its main-food-sources and because they prepare correct bloodbaths in chicken coops occasionally, one marks the martens and its cousin in the vernacular also as "blood-drinkers."
One finds further members of the marten-family under the sting-words: Otters, honey-badger, giant-otters, pig-badger, sea-otters, silver-badger, ermine, sables, dwarf-otters.
Scientific name: