Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Meles (badger)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Mustelidae

Taxonomy
Meles was named by Brisson (1762) [conserved in ICZN Opinion 1894]. It is extant.

It was assigned to Taxina by Gray (1825); to Mustelidae by Kurten (1968) and Carroll (1988); and to Melinae by Marmi et al. (2004), Arribas and Garrido (2007) and Baryshnikov (2009).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1762Meles Brisson p. 45
1795Taxus Geoffroy and Cuvier p. 184
1815Melesium Rafinesque p. 59
1825Meles Gray p. 339
1968Meles Kurten p. 103
1988Meles Carroll
2004Meles Marmi et al. p. 491
2007Meles Arribas and Garrido p. 547
2009Meles Baryshnikov p. 79

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
RankNameAuthor
—Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
—Theriiformes()
—Trechnotheria
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Ferae()
—CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
—CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderCaniformiaKretzoi 1943
infraorderCanoidea(Simpson 1931)
superfamilyArctoideaFlower 1869
—Mustelida
familyMustelidaeFischer 1817
subfamilyMelinaeBurmeister 1872
genusMeles

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Meles Brisson 1762 [badger]
show all | hide all
Meles anakuma Temminck 1844
Meles canescens Blanford 1875 [Caucasian badger]
†Meles iberica Arribas and Garrido 2007
Meles leucurus Hodgson 1847 [Asian badger]
Meles meles Linnaeus 1758 [European badger]
†Meles taxipater Schlosser 1903
Meles taxus Boddaert 1785
†Meles teilhardi Qiu et al. 2004
†Meles thorali Viret 1951
Invalid names: Melesium Rafinesque 1815 [objective synonym], Taxus Geoffroy and Cuvier 1795 [objective synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: semifossorialg
Diet: carnivoreg
Diet 2: omnivoreg
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Comments: "meat/non-vertebrate group" (Van Valkenburgh 1988) and "terrestrial (fossorial)" (Gebo and Rose 1993)g
Created: 2009-01-04 14:20:50
Modified: 2012-05-14 22:02:17
Source: g = genus, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Lillegraven 1979, Carroll 1988, Ji et al. 2002, Van Valkenburgh 1988, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Late/Upper Miocene to the top of the Holocene or 11.60800 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 5.333 Ma

Collections (72 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Miocene11.608 - 5.333Greece (Aegean) Meles maraghanus (202120)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588China (Tibet) Meles n. sp. (115624)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588China (Tianjin) Meles taxipater (231233)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117Bulgaria Meles thorali (58809)
Late/Upper Pliocene3.6 - 2.588Romania Meles sp. (39846)
Late/Upper Pliocene - Early/Lower Pleistocene3.6 - 0.781China (Hebei) Meles leucurus (231023)
Villanyian3.2 - 2.588Hungary (Fejer) Meles sp. (35374)
Villanyian - Pleistocene3.2 - 0.0117Greece (Macedonia) Meles dimitrius (34617)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806Spain (Granada) Meles iberica (77773)
MN 172.588 - 1.806France (Rhone-Alpes) Meles thorali (47150)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Germany (Thüringen) Meles meles (45065)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Greece (Macedonia) Meles dimitrius (34784)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Hungary (Barany) Meles atavus (35457)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Greece (Lesvos) Meles thorali (183341)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Hungary (Borsodabaujzemplen) Meles atavus (35431)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781France (Lot) Meles taxus (48981)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781China (Anhui) Meles chiai (68380)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Spain (Granada) Meles sp. (34898)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Romania Meles meles (33974)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Georgia Meles sp. (56733)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781China (Gansu) Meles teilhardi (190068)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Georgia Meles sp. (40398)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117China (Shaanxi) Meles leucurus (37204)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Belgium Meles meles (34127)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Israel Meles meles (225664)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg) Meles sp. (50242)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Greece (Chalkidiki) Meles meles (183123)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117China (Liaoyang) Meles meles (34667)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Spain (Segovia) Meles meles (36517)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Tajikistan Meles meles (34104)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0China (Jiangsu) Meles leucurus (37064)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129France (Provence) Meles sp. (48889)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Italy (Vicenza) Meles meles (43666 43697)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Germany (Sachsen-Anhalt) Meles meles (36206)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz) Meles sp. (49999)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Czech Republic Meles meles (36214)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Germany (Bayern) Meles meles (50260) Meles sp. (36220)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129China (Liaoning) Meles leucurus (230980)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Austria (Niederoesterreich) Meles sp. (50258)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Italy (Trieste) Meles meles (40808 43701)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Turkey (Central Anatolia) Meles meles (34368)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129China (Guizhou) Meles sp. (51100)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Hungary Meles meles (35045 36706)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg) Meles meles (50259)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Italy (Verona) Meles meles (43645 43653 43655)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene0.774 - 0.0117Monaco Meles taxus (191730)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene0.774 - 0.0117Greece (Lakonia) Meles meles (32062 32082)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene0.774 - 0.0117Italy (Trieste) Meles meles (43702)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Greece (Crete) Meles meles (183124)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117China (Heilongjiang) Meles meles (230983)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Georgia Meles meles (56735)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Portugal Meles meles (197768)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Spain (Valencia) Meles meles (221412 221414)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117France (Poitou-Charentes) Meles meles (43632) Meles sp. (43629 43631)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Germany (Brandenburg) Meles meles (198613)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Greece Meles meles (203847)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117France Meles sp. (43630)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117Russian Federation Meles meles (79548)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Poland Meles meles (63726)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0United Kingdom (Scotland) Meles meles (191169)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Netherlands Meles meles (122115)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Bulgaria Meles meles (232847)