| Meles Temporal range:Early Pleistocene to present | |
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| Meles meles,M. leucurus, andM. anakuma. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Melinae |
| Genus: | Meles Brisson, 1762 |
| Type species | |
| [Ursus] meles Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
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| Ranges of the four (considered three in map) extant species | |
Meles is a genus ofbadgers containing four living species known asEurasian badgers, theJapanese badger (Meles anakuma),Asian badger (Meles leucurus),Caucasian badger (Meles canescens) andEuropean badger (Meles meles).[2][3] In an older categorization, they were seen as a single species with threesubspecies (Meles meles anakuma,Meles meles leucurus andMeles meles meles). There are also severalextinct members of the genus. They are members of the subfamilyMelinae of the weasel family,Mustelidae.[4][5][6]
The genusMeles was erected by French zoologistMathurin Jacques Brisson in 1762 afterCarl Linnaeus haddescribed the Eurasian badgerMeles meles in 1758. This animal had a very extensive range over most of temperate Europe and Asia and there has been much discussion as to whether it is a single or three distinct species. There are geographical differences between individuals from different parts of the range in skull structure,morphology of the firstpremolar teeth, and facial markings. Some authorities advocated placing European and Asian badgers in separate species,Meles meles andMeles leptorhynchus (Milne-Edwards, 1867), the boundary between the two being theVolga River. Others considered three subspecies,M. m. meles found west of the Volga,M. m. arenarius-leptorhynchus found between the Volga andTransbaikalia, andM. m. amurensis-anakuma from theAmur andPrimorsky regions.[7]
Genetic studies ofmitochondrial DNA show the separation of two variants on either side of the Volga but their exact taxonomic rank remains undefined. A further study of cheek teeth from individuals across the entire range supports this division and provides confirmation thatM. meles andM. anakuma are indeed separate species.[7]
| Species | Description | Current distribution |
|---|---|---|
| European badgerMeles meles
| Powerfully built animals with small heads; thick, short necks; stocky, wedge-shaped bodies; short legs, and club-shaped tails. Their feet are digitigrade and short, with five toes on each foot. The limbs are short and massive, with naked lower surfaces on the feet. The claws are strong and elongated, and have an obtuse end for digging. They have flexible snouts and small eyes and ears. The coat is harsh on the back and sides with long bristly guard hairs and a sparse, short-haired underlayer. The belly is clothed in fine short hairs. The colour of the back and sides is light silvery-grey, with straw-coloured highlights on the sides. The tail has long and coarse hairs, and is generally the same colour as the back. Two black bands pass along the head, starting from the upper lip and passing upwards to the whole base of the ears. Other parts of the face are white. Size varies according to subspecies but is usually between 60 and 90 centimetres (24 and 35 in) in body length and 12 and 24 cm (5 and 9 in) in tail length. Adult males are generally heavier than females and can weigh between 15 and 17 kilograms (33 and 37 lb) in autumn when maximum fat reserves are present.[8] | across Europe and in parts of Asia west of the Volga River.[9] |
| Caucasian badgerMeles canescens
| Smaller than European badger, with a dirty-greyish back and brown highlights; its head is identical to the European badger, though with weaker crests; its upper molars are elongated in a similar way as theAsian badger's.[10] | Transcaucasia, the Kopet Dag, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Levant, Tajikistan, Russia, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Asia Minor, islands of Crete and Rhodes.[11] |
| Asian badgerMeles leucurus
| Smaller than European badgers but have larger upper cheek teeth. The colour varies somewhat over the large range but most individuals are lighter in colour than the European badger, though some forms may be much the same shade. In general, their colouration is more brownish-grey. Their sides are paler than the ridge of their backs and the dark facial streaks curve up behind the eyes and pass above the ears. The central pale band on the snout is correspondingly shorter and narrower and the white facial characteristics are altogether more brown-tinged. Their size varies by the region in which they live with males of the Siberian subspecies being about 70 centimetres (28 in) long and females about 65 centimetres (26 in), with males weighing between 10 and 13 kilograms (22 and 29 lb). Kazakh badgers are about the same length but males weigh less at 7 to 8.3 kilograms (15 to 18 lb). The Amur badger is between 60 and 70 centimetres (24 and 28 in) in length.[12] | central and northern Asia east of the Volga River.[13] |
| Japanese badgerMeles anakuma
| Smaller than the other two species, males being about 80 centimetres (31 in) long and females 72 centimetres (28 in). Their weight is usually between 4 and 8 kilograms (8.8 and 17.6 lb). They have a much browner coat and the facial markings are less distinct.[14] Japanese badgers arenocturnal andhibernate during the coldest months of the year. Japanese badgers are more solitary thanEuropean badgers; they do not aggregate into social clans, and mates do not formpair bonds. During the mating season, the range of a male badger overlaps with those of two or three females. A female becomes sexually mature at two years of age and gives birth to a litter of two or three (occasionally four) cubs in March or April. Soon after this, the female mates again butimplantation is delayed until the following February.[14] | Endemic to Japan but are not present on the large island ofHokkaido.[14] |
A further species isMeles thorali from the latePleistocene, known only from fossil remains, specimens of which have been found atSaint-Vallier, Drôme, in southeastern France andBinagady, in Azerbaijan.[7] These have large cheek teeth and characteristics intermediate betweenM. meles andM. anakuma. It is theorized that they were an ancestral species from which these two modern species diverged. Anotherextinct species from Europe isMeles hollitzeri from the Early Pleistocene, remains of which were found inDeutsch-Altenburg, in northeastern Austria, andUntermassfeld, in southeastern Germany.[7]
Media related toMeles at Wikimedia Commons
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