# American marten (*Martes americana*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-marten  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 892 g – 1.25 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 17.7 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 19 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 28 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.73 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months – 15 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Scansorial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Mustelidae
- genus: Martes
- species: *Martes 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: American marten (Martes americana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-marten