Japanese marten created a column of fire, and one fear about them was that if martens that have gathered together in this form appear next to a house, the house would catch on fire.。 Japanese marten The Japanese marten ("Martes melampus") is a mammal in the marten genus most closely related to the sable. It is 0.5 m (1.5 ft) in length typically, not counting a 20-cm-long tail (7.9 in), and between 1,000 and 1,500 grams (2.2 and 3.3 lb) in weight. Males are generally larger than females. The pelage varies in color from dark brown to dull yellow with a cream-colored
Marten new New World clade. The genus first evolved up to seven million years ago during the Miocene epoch. The Modern English "marten" comes from the Middle English "martryn", in turn borrowed from the Anglo-French "martrine" and Old French "martre" (Latin "martes"), itself from a Germanic source; cf. Old English "mearþ", Old Norse "mörðr", and Old High German and Yiddish "". Martens are solitary animals, meeting only to breed in late spring or early summer. Litters of up to five blind and nearly hairless kits are born in early spring. They are weaned after around two months, and leave the mother