American marten
Martes americana (Turton, 1806)
The American marten (Martes americana) is a mammal in the family Mustelidae, subfamily Guloninae, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized carnivore with an adult body mass of 1.25 kg, and it is nocturnal and scansorial.
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Quick facts about the American marten
Gestation lasts 28 days, with 2.73 young per litter and 1 litter per year, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.0 to 1.2 years. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 17.72 years, with values up to 19 years.
- Weight
- 892 g – 1.25 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 17.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 19 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 28 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.73src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 15 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the American marten
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the American marten live?
Not recorded
What is the American marten?
The American marten (Martes americana), also known as the American pine marten, is a species of North American mammal, a member of the family Mustelidae. The species is sometimes referred to as simply the pine marten. The name "pine marten" is derived from the common name of the related but distinct Eurasian species, Martes martes. Martes americana is found throughout Canada and parts of the northern United States including Alaska. It is a long, slender-bodied marten, with fur ranging from yellowish to brown to near black. It may be confused with the fisher (Pekania pennanti), but the marten is lighter in color and smaller. Identification of the marten is further eased by a characteristic bib that is a distinctly different color from the body. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced, with males being much larger.
These martens are omnivorous and their diet varies by season, but they rely chiefly on small mammals, such as voles. They are solitary except during the midsummer breeding season. Embryonic implantation is delayed until late winter, however, with a litter of one to five kits born the following spring. Young stay with the mother in a constructed den until the fall, and they reach sexual maturity by one year old.
Their sable-like fur made them a thoroughly trapped species during the height of the North American fur trade. Trapping peaked in 1820, and populations were depleted until after the turn of the century. Populations have rebounded since, with them being considered a species of least concern by the IUCN, but they remain extirpated from some areas of the Northeast, and of the seven subspecies, one is threatened.
From the Wikipedia article “American marten” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_marten&oldid=1381522754), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the American marten endangered?
The American marten is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the American marten classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyMustelidae
- genusMartes
- SpeciesMartes americana (Turton, 1806)
Synonyms Martes americana abieticola, Martes americana abietinoides, Martes americana actuosa, Martes americana americana, Martes americana atrata, Martes americana brumalis, Martes americana kenaiensis, Martes americana nesophila, Martes americana origenes, Martes americana origensis, Martes americana vancourverensis, Martes americana vancouverensis, Martes americana vulpina, Martes caurina vancouverensis, Mustela americana abieticola, Mustela americana actuosa, Mustela americanus, Mustela atrata, Mustela boria, Mustela brumalis, Mustela huro, Mustela leucopus, Mustela martinus, Mustela nesophila, Mustela vulpina
Other names and names in other languages (30)
- American pine martenEnglish
- American pine martenEnglish
- MartenEnglish
- MartenEnglish
- Pacific martenEnglish
- Pine martenEnglish
- خز أمريكيArabic
- Marta nord-americanaCatalan
- sobol americkýCzech
- FichtenmarderGerman
- Αμερικανικό ΚουνάβιGreek
- MartaSpanish
- Marta americanaSpanish
- amerikannäätäFinnish
- martre d'AmériqueFrench
- amerikai nyestHungarian
- Martora americanaItalian
- アメリカテンJapanese
- 아메리카담비Korean
- AmerikamårNorwegian Bokmål
- AmerikaskogmårNorwegian Bokmål
- Amerikaanse MarterDutch
- waabizheshiOjibwa
- Kuna świerkowaPolish
- Kuna amerykańskaPolish
- marta-americanaPortuguese
- Американская куницаRussian
- amerikansk mårdSwedish
- Amerika sansarıTurkish
- 美洲貂Chinese
Relatives of the American marten
Other species in the same genus Martes.
European pine marten
Martes martes
Sable
Martes zibellina
Beech marten
Martes foina
Yellow-throated marten
Martes flavigula
Nilgiri marten
Martes gwatkinsii
Japanese marten
Martes melampus
CompareAmerican marten vs European pine martenAmerican marten vs SableAmerican marten vs Beech martenAmerican marten vs Yellow-throated marten
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the American marten?
The American marten is a mammal in the family Mustelidae, part of the order Carnivora.
How heavy is the American marten?
The American marten has an adult body mass of 1.25 kg, placing it in the medium size class.
What does the American marten eat?
The American marten is a carnivore.
Is the American marten endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses the American marten as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the American marten live?
The American marten's lifespan is given as 17.72 years, with values up to 19 years.
How many young does the American marten have?
The American marten has 2.73 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation of 28 days.
Is the American marten active at night?
Yes. The American marten is nocturnal, and its lifestyle is scansorial.
Who named the American marten?
The scientific name Martes americana is attributed to (Turton, 1806).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). American marten (Martes americana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-marten
“American marten (Martes americana).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-marten.
@misc{american_marten_2026,
title = {American marten (Martes americana)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-marten},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}