Martes zibellina
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English: Sable
German: Zobel
French: Zibeline
Spanish: Marta cebelina
Distribution areas
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The sable lives in the northern ter-
ritories of Asia from West Ural to the
Pacific. Two other varieties of sable
(Martes melampus and Martes americana) can
be found in the Far East or in the North
America. The sable has been raised on fur
farms since 1929. Longitudinal section
of a fine fur fibre, 1000x
Description of the fur
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The skins are from 35 to 60 cm long; the tail measures about 15 to 20 cm.
The hair coat is dense, soft and grey-brown or blue-brown in colour. The
guard hairs are straight, with dark tips. Some guard hairs are lightly
coloured or white. The thickness of the fur coat is from 20 to 30 mm,
sometimes more.
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Martes zibellina
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English: Sable
German: Zobel
French: Zibeline
Spanish: Marta cebelina
Structure of the hair
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The microscopic structure of the skin
surface is furrowed and the hair follicles
are narrow with straight edges. The hair
fibres grow from the follicles in a
cluster, with an average of 6 to 18 fibres
in each.
Transverse section
The fine fur fibres have a diameter in of an intermediate fibre, 600x
the range of 12 to 20 µm. Their cross-
-sectional outline is circular at the bottom, and straight-sided in the upper
parts, of the shafts. The cuticular scales are cornet-like in the lower parts,
and petal-like in the middle and upper parts, of the fibres. The cuticular
surface is smooth and the scale margins are straight. The medulla is usually
wide, unbroken and central symmetrical-shaped in cross-section. The overall
structure is of the uniserial ladder type with an amorphous infilling
substance.
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Martes zibellina
----------------
English: Sable
German: Zobel
French: Zibeline
Spanish: Marta cebelina
The intermediate fibres have a diameter
in the range of 25 to 50 µm. The
cross-sections are circular or ellipsoidal
and the shafts are covered by cuticles
composed of petal-like or sometimes
wavelike scales. The cuticular surface is
smooth and the margins are straight. The
medulla is wide, unbroken and central
symmetrical-shaped in cross-section. The The surface structure
medullar structure belongs to the uniserial of the skin, 200x
ladder type or the lattice type; the later
occurs mainly in the coarser fibres. The detailed structure of the infilling
material is amorphous.
The guard hairs are circular and ellipsoidal in cross-section with
diameters of 60 to 120 µm. The cuticular scales are even tile-like at the
bottom, wavelike in the middle and crenated tile-like in the upper parts of
the hairs.
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Martes zibellina
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English: Sable
German: Zobel
French: Zibeline
Spanish: Marta cebelina
The scale surface is grooved in the lower
part of the shaft and, elsewhere, it is
smooth. The scale margins are straight but,
in the upper part of the fibres, the margins
are rippled. The medulla is wide, unbroken
and central symmetrical-shaped in cross-
-sectional outline. The overall structure of
the medulla belongs to the lattice type with
an amorphous infilling substance. The cuticular structure
of an intermediate hair, 2000x
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Martes zibellina
----------------
English: Sable
German: Zobel
French: Zibeline
Spanish: Marta cebelina
Longitudinal section
of a guard hair, 600x
Numerical code for sable skin structure
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Surface of the skin: 3-4-3
Fine fur fibres: 6.1-5.11-1-1-2-1-1-1-8-12.21-6.18
Intermediate fibres: 2.1-7.11-1-1-2-1-1-1.8-8-25.51-16.25
Guard hairs: 2.1-2.7-2.1-1.2-2-1-1-8-8-60.121-20.31
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