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European pine marten

species of mammal

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ26046
Source-derived summary

The European pine marten (Martes martes), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and parts of Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

It is less commonly known as baum marten or sweet marten.

Description

The European pine marten's fur is usually light to dark brown. It is short and coarse in the summer, growing longer and silkier during the winter. It has a cream- to yellow-coloured "bib" marking on its throat. Its body is up to 53 cm (21 in) long, with a bushy tail of about 25 cm (9.8 in). It weighs around 1.5–1.7 kg (3.3–3.7 lb); males are slightly larger than females. It has excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing.

Distribution and habitat

United Kingdom

The European pine marten was for many years common only in northwestern Scotland.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “European pine marten” as species of mammal. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around European, pine and marten.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current 154-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with European, pine and marten providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “European pine marten”, the useful work is to connect “species of mammal” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q26046. The Library of Congress control number is sh85081622. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “European pine marten”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow European pine marten primary sources, European pine marten archive and European research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “European pine marten”?
  2. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from European pine marten” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.