Meles Brisson 1762

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Carnivora, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 532-628 : 611

Meles Brisson 1762

Meles Brisson 1762 , Regn. Anim.: 13.

Type Species: [meles Linnaeus 1758

Synonyms: Eumeles Gray 1865 ; Meledes Kastschenko 1925 ; Melesium Rafinesque 1815 ; Taxus E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and G. Cuvier 1795 .

Species and subspecies: 3 species with 13 subspecies:

Species Meles anakuma Temminck 1844

Species Meles leucurus Hodgson 1847

Subspecies Meles leucurus subsp. leucurus Hodgson 1847

Subspecies Meles leucurus subsp. amurensis Schrenck 1859

Subspecies Meles leucurus subsp. arenarius Satunin 1895

Subspecies Meles leucurus subsp. sibiricus Kastschenko 1900

Subspecies Meles leucurus subsp. tianschanensis Hoyningen-Huene 1910

Species Meles meles ( Linnaeus 1758)

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. meles Linnaeus 1758

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. arcalus Miller 1907

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. canescens Blanford 1875

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. heptneri Ognev 1931

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. marianensis Graells 1897

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. milleri Baryshnikov, Puzachenko and Abramov 2003

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. rhodius Festa 1914

Subspecies Meles meles subsp. severzovi Heptner 1940

Discussion: Many authors considered Meles monotypic ( Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951; Heptner et al., 1967; Long and Killingley, 1983; Novikov, 1956; Stroganov, 1962). However, others supported the position that European and Asian badgers are not conspecific ( Aristov and Baryshnikov, 2001; Baryshnikov and Potapova, 1990; Kastschenko, 1902; Neal, 1948; Ognev, 1931; Satunin, 1914). Kurose et al. (2001) argued that Meles is heterogeneous. Recent morphological studies ( Abramov, 2001, 2002) support the separation of Meles into several species. Species and subspecies allocated following Abramov (2001, 2002).