Nilgiri marten

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Nilgiri marten
Nilgiri marten by N A Nazeer.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Martes
Species:
M. gwatkinsii
Binomial name
Martes gwatkinsii
(Horsfield, 1851)
Nilgiri Marten area.png
Nilgiri marten range
Synonyms

Charronia gwatkinsii

The Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii) is the only marten species native to southern India. It lives in the hills of the Nilgiris and parts of the Western Ghats. With only around a thousand members left it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. [1]

Contents

Characteristics

The Nilgiri marten is deep brown from head to rump, with the forequarters being almost reddish, with a bright throat ranging in colour from yellow to orange. It has a prominent frontal concavity and is larger than the yellow-throated marten. [2] It is about 55–65 cm (22–26 in) long from head to vent and has a tail of 40–45 cm (16–18 in). It weighs about 2.1 kg (4.6 lb). [3] :6

Distribution and habitat

Two Nilgiri martens in Pampadum Shola National Park Nilgiri Marten (Martes gwatkinsii).jpg
Two Nilgiri martens in Pampadum Shola National Park

The Nilgiri marten mainly inhabits the shola grassland and high altitude evergreen forests, and occasionally the adjacent mid-altitude moist deciduous forests and commercial plantations, that span the Western Ghats in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The marten's English common name is derived from the Nilgiri Hills that form the center of its range, but sightings have been reported as far north as Charmadi Ghat and as far south as the Neyyar and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuaries. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Behaviour and ecology

The Nilgiri marten is diurnal. It is mainly arboreal, but descends to the ground occasionally. It is omnivorous and preys on birds, small mammals and insects such as cicadas. [10] [2] It has also been observed feeding on a variety of fruits and seeds. [11]

Taxonomy

The Nilgiri marten was described by Thomas Horsfield based on a skin in the museum of the East India Company; it is named after the collector Reynolds Gwatkins. [12]

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The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri, is a mountain range that stretches 1,600 km (990 mi) along the western coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi), it traverses the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The range forms an almost continuous chain of mountains along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, from the Tapti River to Swamithoppe in Kanyakumari district at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. The Western Ghats meet with the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris before continuing south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Western Ghats montane rain forests</span> Ecoregion in South India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilgiri tahr</span> Species of mammal

The Nilgiri tahr is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India. It is the only species in the genus Nilgiritragus and is closely related to the sheep of the genus Ovis.

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The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is an ecoregion in the Western Ghats of southern India with tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. This biome covers the Nilgiri Hills between elevation of 250 and 1,000 m in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shola</span> Patch of stunted tropical montane forest in South India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve</span> International biosphere reserve of India

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Eravikulam National Park is a 97 km2 national park located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki and Ernakulam districts of Kerala in India. The park is situated between 10º05'N and 10º20' north, and 77º0' and 77º10' east and is the first national park in Kerala. It was established in 1978.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown palm civet</span> Species of carnivore

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian brown mongoose</span> Species of mongoose from South Asia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-throated marten</span> Species of carnivore

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Bio reserved of india full map of india

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pampadum Shola National Park</span> National park in India

Pampadum Shola National Park is the smallest national park in Idukki district of Kerala in India. It is on the border with Kodaikanal, Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. The park is administered by the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife, Munnar Wildlife Division, together with the nearby Mathikettan Shola National Park, Eravikulam National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kurinjimala Sanctuary. The park adjoins the Allinagaram Reserved Forest within the proposed Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park.It is a part of Palani hills stretched up to Vandaravu peak. The Westerns Ghats, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including these parks, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

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References

  1. 1 2 Mudappa, D.; Jathana, D. & Raman, T. R. S. (2016) [errata version of 2015 assessment]. "Martes gwatkinsii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T12847A86161239. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T12847A45199025.en . Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 Prater, S. H. (2005) [1971]. The Book of Indian Animals (3rd ed.). Mumbai: Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford University Press.
  3. Hussain, S. A. (1999). "Mustelids, Viverrids and Herpestids of India: Species Profile and Conservation Status". ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas. 2 (2): 1–38.
  4. Christopher, G. & Jayson, E. A. (1996). "Sightings of Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii Horsfield) at Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary and Silent Valley National Park, Kerala, India". Small Carnivore Conservation. 15: 3–4. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  5. Madhusudan, M. D. (1995). "Sighting of the Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii) at Eravikulam National Park, Kerala, India". Small Carnivore Conservation. 13: 6–7. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  6. Gokula, V. & Ramachandran, N. K. (1996). "A record of the Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii Horsfield) in Upper Bhavani". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 93 (1): 82.
  7. Mudappa, D. (1999). "Lesser Known Carnivores of the Western Ghats". ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas. 2 (2). Dehradun: Wildlife Institute of India: 65–70.
  8. Balakrishnan, P. (2005). "Recent sightings and habitat characteristics of the endemic Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsii in Western Ghats, India". Small Carnivore Conservation. 33: 14–16. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  9. Krishna, K. & Karnad, D. (2010). "New records of the Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India". Small Carnivore Conservation. 43: 23–27. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  10. Hutton, A. F. (1948). "Feeding habits of the Nilgiri marten [Charronia gwatkinsii (Horsfield)]". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 48 (2): 355–356. ISSN   0006-6982.
  11. Anil, G.; Kishor, N.; Gafoor, N.; Ommer, N. & Nameer, P. O. (2018). "Observations on the Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsii (Mammalia: Carnivora: Mustelidae) from Pampadum Shola National Park, the southern Western Ghats, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 10 (1): 11226–11230. doi: 10.11609/jott.3446.10.1.11226-11230 .
  12. Catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum of the Hon. East-India Company. London: Printed by J. & H. Cox. 1851. pp. 99–101. doi: 10.5962/bhl.title.32671 . OCLC   1109424. OL   243736W .