The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.

Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large paws with partially retractible claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on the species, and, in many cases, is valued by fur trappers.

Martens are omnivorous animals related to wolverines, minks, badgers, ferrets, and weasels. Their diet consists of squirrels, mice, rabbits, birds, fish, insects, and eggs, and they will also eat fruit and nuts when these are available.

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 to fend for themselves at about three to four months of age.

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, Old High German and Yiddish mardar.

Marten Andersson (born Mårten Andersson, November 26, 1974 in Stockholm, Sweden) is the bass guitarist for the hard rock and heavy metal groups Lizzy Borden,George Lynch's (Lynch Mob), Starwood and Legacy. He is also known for smaller TV and movie acting parts as well as authoring a successful music reference book.

Born as an only child, it was in the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden that Marten developed an interest in becoming a musician after being exposed to bands such as KISS and Iron Maiden. Marten had a passion for playing various different musical instruments but soon considered bass his main instrument. Marten once asked his father to buy him a guitar only to have the guitar traded in for a bass two weeks later. At the age of 16 he had already performed shows and recorded with various local bands but he had bigger aspirations. He wanted to take on Hollywood. By the age of 18 Marten moved to Los Angeles to study music and it did not take long before he started touring the world and recording with the heavy metal band Lizzy Borden. Named after the band's lead vocalist and known for their outrageous and theatrical stage shows.