Sable | Color, Fur, & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

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External Websites

• Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility - Sable
• Clark Science Center at Smith College - Martes zibellina
• Animal Diversity Web - Sable
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Genetic individualization of sable (Martes zibellina L. 1758) using microsatellites
• AZ Animals - Sable
• African Wildlife Foundation - Sable

sable mammal Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: Martes zibellina Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

sable, (Martes zibellina), graceful carnivore of the weasel family, Mustelidae, found in the forests of northern Asia and highly valued for its fine fur. The common name is sometimes also applied to related European and Asian species and to the American marten (Martes americana). The sable ranges from about 32 to 51 cm (13 to 20 inches) long, excluding the 13–18-cm (5.1–7.1-inch) tail, and weighs 0.9–1.8 kg (2–4 pounds). Its body colour varies from brown to almost black, sometimes with a throat patch from dusky to salmon.

The sable is solitary and arboreal in habits, feeding on small animals and eggs. The unusually long gestation of about 250 to 300 days is caused by delayed implantation of the fertilized egg in the wall of the uterus. The litter numbers from one to four.

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the sable as a species of least concern. Estimates from studies conducted in the early 2010s of Russian sables place that country’s sable population at more than two million animals.

Britannica Quiz Animal Group Names The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.