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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.
European badger. Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea.Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by their ancestral relationships: Musteloidea contains several families, only two of which (the "weasel family" Mustelidae and the "skunk family ...
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.
Habitats vary widely as well, from the arboreal marten to the fossorial European badger to the marine sea otter. Population sizes are largely unknown, though two species, the sea mink and Japanese otter , were hunted to extinction in 1894 and 1979, respectively, and several other species are endangered .
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.
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)
Paraceras melis, the badger flea, is an external parasite of the European badger (Meles meles).It has also been found on the fox (Vulpes vulpes), the dog (Canis familiaris), the cat (Felis catus), the European polecat (Mustela putorius), the mole (Talpa europaea) and the fallow deer (Dama dama).
In Britain, the main predator is the European badger. European hedgehog populations in the United Kingdom are lower in areas with many badgers, [16] and hedgehog rescue societies will not release hedgehogs into known badger territories. [17] Badgers also compete with hedgehogs for food. [18]