MAMMALS 



273 



M. americana (Turton). Pine marten; American sable (Fig. 156). 

 Color rich brown, darker middorsally; legs black; tail blackish and 

 bushy; length 610 mm.; tail 205 mm.; hind foot 90 mm.; ears pointed: 

 forests of northern North America from the Atlantic to the Rockies; 

 from Hudson Bay and Labrador southward into Pennsylvania; Hud- 

 sonian, Canadian and Upper Transition zones; nest in hollow trees or 



holes in the ground, and up to 8 young 

 annually raised; 6 subspecies in British 

 America. 



M. caurina (Merriam). Pacific 

 marten. Color rich dark brown; throat 

 orange-buff; length 625 mm.; tail 220 



Fig. 156. — Skull of Maries americana {from Elliot). 



mm.; hind foot 90 mm.: Pacific coast region from northern California 

 to Alaska; central and southern Rockies. 



Subspecies of M. caurina 



M. c. caurina (Merr.). Pacific coast region. 



M. c. origenes (Rhoads). Colors pale: central and southern Rockies. 



M. c. sierrcB Grinnell and Storer. Colors pale; breast with a large 

 area of ochraceous orange ; size small : Boreal zone of the Sierra Xevadas. 



M. pennanti (Erxleben). Fisher; pekan. Body relatively stout; 

 color dark brown or blackish, being lighter anteriorly; legs and tip of 

 tail black; length 890 mm.; tail 375 mm.; hind foot 100 mm.: North 

 America from the Atlantic to the Pacific; southward into INIainc, New 

 York and the Pennsylvania mountains; usually rare; Hudsonian, 

 Canadian and Transition zones; i litter of i to 5 young raised. 



