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The Beech Marten (Martes foina), also known as the Stone Marten, is the most common species of marten
Marten

The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. They are slender, agile, animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere....
 in Central Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. Beech martens are long, slender, short-legged predators with long, bushy tails. They grow to a size of 40 to 50 cm in body length and weigh up to two kilograms. Their brown coats have a forked white marking at the throat, which distinguishes them in appearance from the pine Marten
Pine Marten

The European Pine Marten , or Pineten, is an animal of the weasel family, native to Northern Europe. It is about the size of a domestic cat....
 whose throat marking is cream-coloured and more rounded.

Beech martens frequently live in areas of human settlement, often in attic spaces, but can also be found in the countryside, although they avoid areas where there is no cover.






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The Beech Marten (Martes foina), also known as the Stone Marten, is the most common species of marten
Marten

The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. They are slender, agile, animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere....
 in Central Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. Beech martens are long, slender, short-legged predators with long, bushy tails. They grow to a size of 40 to 50 cm in body length and weigh up to two kilograms. Their brown coats have a forked white marking at the throat, which distinguishes them in appearance from the pine Marten
Pine Marten

The European Pine Marten , or Pineten, is an animal of the weasel family, native to Northern Europe. It is about the size of a domestic cat....
 whose throat marking is cream-coloured and more rounded.

Beech martens frequently live in areas of human settlement, often in attic spaces, but can also be found in the countryside, although they avoid areas where there is no cover. They inhabit the whole of mainland Europe as well as Western and Central Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
. Beech martens sleep in cover during the day, and hunt for food in the twilight
Twilight

Twilight is the time between dawn and sunrise, and the time between sunset and dusk. Sunlight Scattering in the upper Earth's atmosphere illuminates the lower atmosphere, and the surface of the Earth is not completely lit or completely dark....
. They are omnivore
Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eating both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively....
s and their diet includes smaller mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, earthworm
Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. The earthworm is the most known worm in America, and other countries....
s, small to medium-sized birds, eggs, and fruit. In turn, they are sometimes preyed upon by raptors such as the Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known bird of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas....
, and larger predators such as wolves or lynxes
Lynx

A lynx is any of four medium-sized wild Felidae. All are members of the genus Lynx, but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify felids at present, and some authorities classify them as part of the genus Felis....
.

The mating season lasts from June to August, the gestation period is increased through delayed implantation, which leads to young being born in March or April. A litter consists of 2 to 4 young.

Beech martens are noted for their habit of damaging cars by biting through ignition leads and brake hoses and pulling apart insulation boards. This might be caused by the presence of territorial markings of other martens in the engine compartment. Beech martens also creep into outbuildings where they eat not only eggs but also poultry and rabbits. Beech martens characteristically leave small droppings to mark territory, often on raised land.

The release of pet martens has led to the establishment of a breeding colony in Wisconsin
Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
, U.S.A.

Sources


This article was translated from the equivalent German-language article as of 10:31 16 August, 2005.