Sable

Open encyclopedia reference

The sable (Martes zibellina) is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kazakhstan, China, North Korea, and Hokkaido, Japan.

The sable's fur ranges from light to dark brown. Its head is elongated with long ears. It is a skilled climber and primarily hunts by sound and scent. Mating occurs between June and August, and litters typically have two or three offspring. Sable fur has been highly valued in the fur trade since the early Middle Ages, and its popularity has driven hunting and conservation efforts. Today, sable fur is often used to decorate clothing items. It has been categorised as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Wikipedia contributors, Sable; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:20:07.148967+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Martes zibellina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Name authority

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name

Sable

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderCarnivora Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderCaniformia Kretzoi, 1938
13. familyMustelidae G. Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
14. subfamilyGuloninae Gray, 1825
15. genusMartes Pinel, 1792
16. speciesMartes zibellina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Martes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 58 records assigned to Mustelidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=621945 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:3Y9W9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.