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The European badger (Meles meles), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia.It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a wide range and a large, stable population size which is thought to be increasing in some regions.
The genus Meles was erected by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1762 after Carl Linnaeus had described the Eurasian badger Meles 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.
The word "badger", originally applied to the European badger (Meles meles), comes from earlier bageard (16th century), [5] presumably referring to the white mark borne like a badge on its forehead. [6] Similarly, a now archaic synonym was bauson 'badger' (1375), a variant of bausond 'striped, piebald', from Old French bausant, baucent 'id.'. [7]
The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by Mammal Species of the World (2005), ... European badger. M. meles (Linnaeus, 1758) Four subspecies.
From the early Middle Ages, the trade in furs was of great economic importance for northern and eastern European nations with large native populations of fur-bearing mustelids, and was a major economic impetus behind Russian expansion into Siberia and French and English expansion in North America.
Sable, Martes zibellina NA (western Ural Mountains, European Russia) Caucasian badger, Meles canescens (Crete, Rhodes) Asian badger, Meles leucurus [2] LC (Russia, Kazakhstan) European badger, Meles meles LC; Stoat, Mustela erminea LC; Steppe polecat, Mustela eversmanii LC; European mink, Mustela lutreola CR (eastern Europe, Spain, France)
The American badger is a member of the Mustelidae, a diverse family of carnivorous mammals that also includes weasels, otters, ferrets, and the wolverine. [4] The American badger belongs to the Taxidiinae, one of four subfamilies of mustelid badgers – the other three being the Melinae (four species in two genera, including the European badger), the Helictidinae (five species of ferret ...
The Caucasian badger was formerly thought to be a subspecies of the European badger (M. meles), along with the other subspecies also classified within it.However, a 2013 study found significant genetic divergence between both species.