NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Nilgiri Marten
Martes gwatkinsii Horsfield, 1851
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Nilgiri marten; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:44:41.862290+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Martes gwatkinsii Horsfield, 1851
- Name authority
- Horsfield, 1851
- Common name
- Nilgiri Marten
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Mustelidae
- Genus
- Martes
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderCarnivora Bowdich, 1821
- suborderCaniformia Kretzoi, 1938
- familyMustelidae G. Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
- subfamilyGuloninae Gray, 1825
- genusMartes Pinel, 1792
- speciesMartes gwatkinsii Horsfield, 1851
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Martes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| American MartenMartes americana (Turton, 1806) | MustelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pacific MartenMartes caurina (Merriam, 1890) | MustelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-throated MartenMartes flavigula (Boddaert, 1785) | MustelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Beech MartenMartes foina (Erxleben, 1777) | MustelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| European Pine MartenMartes martes (Linnaeus, 1758) | MustelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Japanese MartenMartes melampus (Wagner, 1840) | MustelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| SableMartes zibellina (Linnaeus, 1758) | MustelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=621942 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3Y9VX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.