Martes flavigula
Encyclopedia
The yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula), also known as the kharza, is an Asia
n species of marten
which is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern
due to its wide distribution, evidently relatively stable population, occurrence in a number of protected areas, and lack of major threats. The yellow-throated marten is the largest marten in the Old World
, with a tail more than half its body length. Its fur is brightly coloured, consisting of a unique blend of black, white, golden-yellow and brown. It is an omnivore
, whose sources of food range from fruit
and nectar to small deer
. The yellow-throated marten is a fearless animal with no natural predators, because of its powerful build, its bright colouration and unpleasant odour. It shows little fear of humans or dogs, and is easily tamed.
Although similar in several respects to the smaller beech marten
, it is sharply differentiated from other martens by its unique color and the structure of its baculum
. It is probably the most ancient form of marten, having likely originated during the Pliocene
, as indicated by its geographical distribution and its atypical colouration.
The first written description of the yellow-throated marten in the Western World
is given by Thomas Pennant
in his History of Quadrupeds (1781), in which he named it "White-cheeked Weasel". Pieter Boddaert
featured it in his Elenchus Animalium with the name Mustela flavigula. For a long period after the Elenchus publication, the existence of the yellow-throated marten was considered doubtful by many zoologists, until a skin was presented to the Museum of the East India Company in 1824 by Thomas Hardwicke
.
, but is much larger. The baculum
is S-shaped, with four blunt processes occurring on the tip. It is larger than other Old World martens ; males measure 500–719 mm in body length, while females measure 500–620 mm. Males weigh 2.5-5.7 kg (5.5-12.6 lbs), while females weigh 1.6-3.8 kg (3.5-8.4 lbs). The anal glands sport two unusual protuberances, which can be used to secrete a strong smelling liquid for defensive purposes.
The yellow-throated marten has relatively short fur which lacks the fluffiness of the pine marten
, sable
and beech marten. The winter fur differs from that of other martens by its relative shortness, its harshness and its lustre. It is also not as dense, fluffy and compact as that of other martens. The hairs on the tail are short and of equal length over the whole tail. The summer fur is shorter, sparser, less compact and lustrous. The colour of the pelage is unique among martens, being bright and variegated. The top of the head is blackish brown with shiny brown highlights, while the cheeks are somewhat more reddish, with a mixture of white hair tips. The back of the ears are black, while he inner portions are covered with yellowish-grey. The fur is a shiny brownish-yellow colour with a golden tone from the occiput
along the surface of the back. The colour becomes browner on the hind quarters. The flanks and belly are bright yellowish in tone. The chest and lower part of the throat are a brighter, orange-golden colour than the back and belly. The chin and lower lips are pure white. The front paws and lower forelimbs are pure black, while the upper parts of the limbs are the same colour as the front of the back. The tail is of a shiny pure black colour, though the tip has a light, violet wash. The base of the tail is greyish-brown. The contrasting marks of the head and throat are likely recognition marks.
typically consist of 2-3 kits and rarely four.
hunter, which usually hunts in pairs, but may also hunt in packs of three or more. It preys on rat
s, mice
, hare
s, snake
s, lizard
s, egg
s and ground nesting birds such as pheasant
s and francolin
s. It is reported to kill cat
s and poultry
. It has been known to feed on human corpses, and was once thought to be able to attack an unarmed man in groups of 3-4. The yellow-throated marten may prey on small ungulate
s. In the Himalayas and Burma, it is reported to frequently kill muntjac
fawns, while in Ussuriland the base of its diet consists of musk deer
, particularly in winter. The young of larger ungulate species are also taken, but within a weight range of 10–12 kg. In winter, the yellow-throated marten hunts musk deer by driving them onto ice. Two or three yellow-throated martens can consume a musk deer carcass in 2–3 days. Other ungulate species preyed upon by the yellow-throated marten include young wapiti
, spotted deer, roe deer
and goral
. Wild boar piglets are also taken on occasion. It may prey on panda
cubs and smaller marten species, such as sable
s. In areas where it is sympatric with tiger
s, the yellow throated marten may trail them and feed on their kills. Like other martens, it supplements its diet with nectar and fruit
, and is therefore considered to be an important seed disperser.
to eastern Russia
, south to the Malay Peninsula
and Sunda Shelf
(Borneo
, Sumatra
, and Java
) to Taiwan
. The yellow-throated marten has been reported in the northeast India
n states of Arunachal Pradesh
, Manipur
and Assam
and in Burma. It occurs in central and northeastern China
and the Korean Peninsula
. The yellow-throated marten is well distributed, but uncommon throughout mainland Malaya
. It also occurs in the central mountain range and the southern areas of Taiwan.
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n species of marten
Marten
The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.-Description:Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large...
which is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
due to its wide distribution, evidently relatively stable population, occurrence in a number of protected areas, and lack of major threats. The yellow-throated marten is the largest marten in the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
, with a tail more than half its body length. Its fur is brightly coloured, consisting of a unique blend of black, white, golden-yellow and brown. It is an omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, whose sources of food range from fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and nectar to small deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
. The yellow-throated marten is a fearless animal with no natural predators, because of its powerful build, its bright colouration and unpleasant odour. It shows little fear of humans or dogs, and is easily tamed.
Although similar in several respects to the smaller beech marten
Beech Marten
The beech marten , also known as the stone marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN on account of its wide distribution, its large...
, it is sharply differentiated from other martens by its unique color and the structure of its baculum
Baculum
The baculum is a bone found in the penis of most mammals. It is absent in humans, but present in other primates, such as the gorilla and chimpanzee.The bone aids in sexual intercourse.-Purpose:...
. It is probably the most ancient form of marten, having likely originated during the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
, as indicated by its geographical distribution and its atypical colouration.
The first written description of the yellow-throated marten in the Western World
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
is given by Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant was a Welsh naturalist and antiquary.The Pennants were a Welsh gentry family from the parish of Whitford, Flintshire, who had built up a modest estate at Bychton by the seventeenth century...
in his History of Quadrupeds (1781), in which he named it "White-cheeked Weasel". Pieter Boddaert
Pieter Boddaert
Pieter Boddaert was a Dutch physician and naturalist.Boddaert was the son of a Middelburg jurist and poet by the same name . Pieter Jr. obtained his M.D. at the University of Utrecht in 1764 and there became a lecturer on natural history. Fourteen letters survive of his correspondence with Carl...
featured it in his Elenchus Animalium with the name Mustela flavigula. For a long period after the Elenchus publication, the existence of the yellow-throated marten was considered doubtful by many zoologists, until a skin was presented to the Museum of the East India Company in 1824 by Thomas Hardwicke
Thomas Hardwicke
Major-General Thomas Hardwicke was an English soldier and naturalist who was resident in India from 1777 to 1823. After returning to England he collaborated with John Edward Gray in the publication of Illustrations of Indian Zoology .At the age of 22, he joined the East India Company...
.
Description
The yellow-throated marten is a large, robust, muscular and flexible animal with an elongated thorax, a small pointed head, a long neck and a very long tail which constitutes about 2/3 of its body length. The tail is not as bushy as that of other martens, and thus seems longer than it actually is. The limbs are relatively short and strong, with broad feet. The ears are large and broad, but short with rounded tips. The soles of the feet are covered with coarse, flexible hairs, though the digital and footpads are naked and the paws are weakly furred. The skull is similar to that of the beech martenBeech Marten
The beech marten , also known as the stone marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN on account of its wide distribution, its large...
, but is much larger. The baculum
Baculum
The baculum is a bone found in the penis of most mammals. It is absent in humans, but present in other primates, such as the gorilla and chimpanzee.The bone aids in sexual intercourse.-Purpose:...
is S-shaped, with four blunt processes occurring on the tip. It is larger than other Old World martens ; males measure 500–719 mm in body length, while females measure 500–620 mm. Males weigh 2.5-5.7 kg (5.5-12.6 lbs), while females weigh 1.6-3.8 kg (3.5-8.4 lbs). The anal glands sport two unusual protuberances, which can be used to secrete a strong smelling liquid for defensive purposes.
The yellow-throated marten has relatively short fur which lacks the fluffiness of the pine marten
Pine Marten
The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
, sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
and beech marten. The winter fur differs from that of other martens by its relative shortness, its harshness and its lustre. It is also not as dense, fluffy and compact as that of other martens. The hairs on the tail are short and of equal length over the whole tail. The summer fur is shorter, sparser, less compact and lustrous. The colour of the pelage is unique among martens, being bright and variegated. The top of the head is blackish brown with shiny brown highlights, while the cheeks are somewhat more reddish, with a mixture of white hair tips. The back of the ears are black, while he inner portions are covered with yellowish-grey. The fur is a shiny brownish-yellow colour with a golden tone from the occiput
Occiput
The occiput is the anatomical term for the posterior portion of the head, in insects the posterior part of those head capsule.-Clinical significance:Trauma to the occiput can cause a basilar skull fracture....
along the surface of the back. The colour becomes browner on the hind quarters. The flanks and belly are bright yellowish in tone. The chest and lower part of the throat are a brighter, orange-golden colour than the back and belly. The chin and lower lips are pure white. The front paws and lower forelimbs are pure black, while the upper parts of the limbs are the same colour as the front of the back. The tail is of a shiny pure black colour, though the tip has a light, violet wash. The base of the tail is greyish-brown. The contrasting marks of the head and throat are likely recognition marks.
Territorial behaviour and reproduction
The yellow-throated marten holds extensive, but not permanent, home-ranges. It actively patrols its territory, having been known to cover over 10–20 km in a single day and night. It primarily hunts on the ground, but can climb trees proficiciently, being capable of making jumps up to 8–9 metres in distance between branches. After March snowfalls, the yellow-throated marten restricts its activities up treetops. Estrus occurs twice a year, from mid-February to late-March and from late-June to early-August. During these periods, the males fight each other for access to females. Litterstypically consist of 2-3 kits and rarely four.
Diet
The yellow-throated marten is a diurnalDiurnal
Diurnal may refer to:* Diurnal cycle, any pattern that recurs daily** Diurnality, the behavior of animals and plants that are active in the daytime* Diurnal motion, the apparent motion of stars around the Earth...
hunter, which usually hunts in pairs, but may also hunt in packs of three or more. It preys on rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s, mice
MICE
-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...
, hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
s, snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s and ground nesting birds such as pheasant
Pheasant
Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
s and francolin
Francolin
Francolins are birds that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera , although some of the major taxonomic listing sources have yet to divide them. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae...
s. It is reported to kill cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s and poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
. It has been known to feed on human corpses, and was once thought to be able to attack an unarmed man in groups of 3-4. The yellow-throated marten may prey on small ungulate
Ungulate
Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive...
s. In the Himalayas and Burma, it is reported to frequently kill muntjac
Muntjac
Muntjac, also known as Barking Deer and Mastreani Deer, are small deer of the genus Muntiacus. Muntjac are the oldest known deer, appearing 15–35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France, Germany and Poland....
fawns, while in Ussuriland the base of its diet consists of musk deer
Musk deer
Musk deer are artiodactyls of the genus Moschus, the only genus of family Moschidae. They are more primitive than the cervids, or true deer, in not having antlers or facial glands, in having only a single pair of teats, and in possessing a gall bladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth...
, particularly in winter. The young of larger ungulate species are also taken, but within a weight range of 10–12 kg. In winter, the yellow-throated marten hunts musk deer by driving them onto ice. Two or three yellow-throated martens can consume a musk deer carcass in 2–3 days. Other ungulate species preyed upon by the yellow-throated marten include young wapiti
Wapiti
- Animals :* Elk , from the Cree language waapiti, a large deer species native to western North America and eastern Asia- Places :* Wapiti Pass, a mountain pass in British Columbia, Canada...
, spotted deer, roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
and goral
Goral
Goral may refer to:* Three species of Asian ungulates in the genus Naemorhedus.* The Gorals, a people living in southern Poland, northern Slovakia and the Czech Republic....
. Wild boar piglets are also taken on occasion. It may prey on panda
Panda
Panda or Panda bear most often refers to:*Giant panda, an animal in the Bear familyPanda may also refer to:*Red panda, the only living member in the Ailuridae family-In biology:* Species related to the Giant panda...
cubs and smaller marten species, such as sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
s. In areas where it is sympatric with tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s, the yellow throated marten may trail them and feed on their kills. Like other martens, it supplements its diet with nectar and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, and is therefore considered to be an important seed disperser.
Subspecies
, nine subspecies are recognised.| Subspecies | Trinomial authority | Description | Range | Synonyms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian kharzaMartes f. flavigula (Nominate subspecies) |
Bodaert, 1785 | A large subspecies distinguished by the absence of a naked area of skin above the plantar pad of the hind foot, a larger mat of hair between the plantar and carpal pads of the forefoot and by its longer, more luxuriant winter coat | Jammu & Kashmir eastwards through Northern India, the Himalayas Himalayas The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau... to Assam Assam Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country... , upper Burma, and southeastern Tibet Tibet Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people... and southern Kham Kham Kham , is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China , most of the region was... |
chrysogaster (C. E. H. Smith, 1842) hardwickei (Horsfield, 1828) kuatunensis (Bonhote, 1901) leucotis (Bechstein, 1800) melina (Kerr, 1792) melli (Matschie, 1922) quadricolor (Shaw, 1800) szetchuensis (Hilzheimer, 1910) typica (Bonhote, 1901) yuenshanensis (Shih, 1930) |
| Amur kharzaMartes f. borealis | Radde, 1862 | Distinguished from flavigula by its denser and longer winter fur and somewhat larger general dimensions | Amur and Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok... s, former Manchuria Manchuria Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast... and the Korean Peninsula Korean Peninsula The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of... |
koreana (Mori, 1922) |
| Formosan kharzaMartes f. chrysospila | Swinhoe, 1866 | Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... |
xanthospila (Swinhoe, 1870) | |
| Hainan kharzaMartes f. hainana | Hsu and Wu, 1981 | Hainan Hainan Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name... island |
||
| Sumatran kharzaMartes f. henrici | Schinz, 1845 | Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538... |
||
| Indochinese kharzaMartes f. indochinensis | Kloss, 1916 | Distinguished from flavigula by the presence of a naked area of skin above the plantar pad of the hind feet and the area between the plantar and carpal pads on the forefeet. The winter coat is shorter and less luxuriant, with the colour being paler, rather yellower on the shoulders and upper back, the loins are less deeply pigmented and the nape is more profusely speckled with yellow. The belly is a dirty white in colour and the throat pale yellow. | Northern Tenasserim, Thailand Thailand Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... and Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... |
|
| Malaysian kharzaMartes f. peninsularis | Bonhote, 1901 | Similar to indochinensis, but distinguished by its brown, rather than black, head, with the nape being the same colour as the shoulders, being usually buff or yellowish brown. The shoulders and upper back are not as yellow as in indochinensis and the abdomen is always darkish brown, while the throat varies from orange-yellow to cream. The fur is short and thin | Southern Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland... |
|
| Javan kharzaMartes f. robinsoni | Pocock, 1936 | western Java Java Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java... |
||
| Bornean kharzaMartes f. saba | Chasen and Kloss, 1931 | Borneo Borneo Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia.... |
Range
The species occurs in sub-tropical and tropical forests from the HimalayasHimalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
to eastern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, south to the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
and Sunda Shelf
Sunda Shelf
Geologically, the Sunda Shelf is a south east extension of the continental shelf of Southeast Asia. Major landmasses on the shelf include the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Madura, Bali and their surrounding smaller islands. It covers an area of approximately 1.85 million km2...
(Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, and Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
) to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The yellow-throated marten has been reported in the northeast India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n states of Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
, Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and in Burma. It occurs in central and northeastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
. The yellow-throated marten is well distributed, but uncommon throughout mainland Malaya
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
. It also occurs in the central mountain range and the southern areas of Taiwan.