Biological, ecological and taxonomic status of Balikesir city martens, Martes pinel, 1792 (Mammalia:Carnivora)

Field studies were carried out between 2016 and 2017 in order to conduct research on the biology, ecology and taxonomic characteristics of the martens (Martes) spreading in Balıkesir province. A total of 32 marten samples were obtained without considering species taxonomy in the province. All of the samples belong to Martes foina (Rock marten) and no findings were obtained for Martes martes (Tree marten). This situation is a indication that M. martes, a protected species of Turkey, is endangered species in Balıkesir province. Internal and external characters of the obtained samples of M. foina were measured. Literature data and sample measures were compared and it was determined that the Martes foina nominative form was spread in the province of Balıkesir. Some discriminative properties of M. foina with biologic, ecological and taxonomic properties such as habitat, feeding, fur color, ectoparasite and baculum were recorded. The records of the localities of samples obtained with the measurements of the samples were given. In this study, the necessary measures for the protection strategy of both species were recorded in the form of suggestions.