Martes martes ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Marciszak, A, Stefaniak, K & Gornig, W, 2017, Large mammals (carnivores, artiodactyls) from Solna Jama Cave (Bystrzyckie Mts, Southwestern Poland) in the context of faunal changes in the postglacial period of Central Europe, Palaeontologia Electronica (Bellingham, Wash.) 11 (4), pp. 1-37 : 13

Martes martes ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Specimens. Complete, left radius (JSJ/Ma/1).

Measurements. L, 60.84 mm; pl, 7.38 mm; pB, 4.51 mm; mL, 3.23 mm; B, 3.36 mm; dL, 9.43 mm.

Description. The single radius is proportionally longer and more gracile than the radius of Martes foina ( Erxleben, 1777) ( Anderson, 1970) . The bone measurements and proportions are the most valuable criteria to distinguish the two marten species, while morphological differences are only minute and unreliable ( Anderson, 1970). This specimen is within the size range of the recent males of Ma. martes from Poland with mean = 60.28 mm (range = 57.74–63.12, N = 13) ( Marciszak, 2012). The females are smaller, with the mean of 53.04 mm (range = 51.14–55.21, N = 12). The radius is also close to the postglacial and Holocene specimens from Poland (mean = 62.06 mm, N = 18), but distinctly smaller than the late Pleistocene Ma. martes . Radii of more than 80 mm are known from late Pleistocene layers in the environs of Niedźwiedzia Cave, while those from stratigraphically younger sediments are much smaller, similar to the bone from Solna Jama Cave. It is impossible to determine the sex of the specimen.

Remarks. Detailed revisions of the Pleistocene and Holocene mustelid material from the Polish archaeological and palaeontological sites showed that Martes foina was absent in the fossil record ( Wiszniowska, 1989; Sommer and Benecke, 2004; Marciszak, 2012). Kowalski (1959) listed two Pleistocene sites with supposed presence of Ma. foina . Both were cited after other sources, and most probably the author did not see the material. Already Anderson (1970) suspected misidentification and doubted the geological age. Upon revision, the few postcranial bones from Maszycka Cave ( Ossowski, 1885) and Wschodnia Cave ( Zotz, 1939) labelled as Ma. foina turned out to be Ma. martes . Martes foina appeared not earlier than the Neolithic period, which is most probably correlated with human colonisation ( Anderson, 1970).