Meles meles

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,868 meters (0 to 6,129 feet).[1]

Ecology: It prefers deciduous woods with clearings, or open pastureland with small patches of woodland. It is also found in mixed and coniferous woodland, scrub , suburban areas and urban parks. It is an opportunistic forager with an omnivorous diet , including fruit, nuts, bulbs, tubers, acorns , and cereal crops . It also consumes a variety of invertebrates (especially earthworms), wasp and bee nests , birds' eggs , carrion , and live vertebrate prey such as hedgehogs, moles , and rabbits. In the northern parts of its range the species hibernates during the winter months. The home ranges of this species in Finland are very large, with a mean of about 15 km² (Kauhala et al. 2006), and their social system is peculiar, with large overlapping home ranges without any communal den (Kauhala in litt. 2006). In Finland, it does not reproduce every year, and the litter size is small (Kauhala et al. 2006).[2].

List of Habitats :

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.1     Forest - Boreal   
  
•     1.4     Forest - Temperate   
  
•     3     Shrubland   
  
•     3.3     Shrubland - Boreal   
  
•     3.4     Shrubland - Temperate   
  
•     4     Grassland   
  
•     4.4     Grassland - Temperate   
  
•     4.5     Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry   
  
•     8     Desert   
  
•     8.3     Desert - Cold   
  
•     14     Artificial/Terrestrial   
  
•     14.2     Artificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland   
  
•     14.4     Artificial/Terrestrial - Rural Gardens   
  
•     14.5     Artificial/Terrestrial - Urban Areas   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Aug-2007

Previously the genus Meles was considered as monotypic. According to recent morphological and genetic studies the genus has been split into three different species: M. meles, M. leucurus and M. anakuma (Abramov 2002, 2003, Abramov and Puzachenko 2005; see also Wilson and Reeder 2005).[2].

Similar Species

Members of the genus Meles

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 3 species and subspecies in this genus:

M. anakuma (Japanese Badger) · M. leucurus (Asian Badger) · M. meles (Eurasian Badger;old World Badger;badger)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A catalogue of the collection of mammals in the Field Columbian Museum. 1907 8 Chicago: Field Columbian Museum, 1907. url p. 432, p. 624.
• A hand-book to the British mammalia. London, Edward Lloyd, 1896. url , , .
• A handbook to the vertebrate fauna of north Wales. London, Witherby & Co., 1919. url p. 12.
• A reprint of the North American zoology, by George Ord. Being an exact reproduction of the part originally compiled by Mr. Ord for Johnson & Warner, and first published by them in their 2d American ed. of Guthrie's geography, in 1815. Taken Haddonsfield, N.J., Pub. by the editor, 1894. url p. 72.
• A study of the mammals of Iran: resulting from the Street Expedition of 1962-63 [by] Douglas M. Lay. 54 1967 [Chicago]Field Museum of Natural History, 1967. url fig. 21 , p. 210, p. 279, p. 75, p. 76, p. 92.
• A survey of the mammals of Afghanistan, resulting from the 1965 Street Expedition (excluding bats) [by] Jerry D. Hassinger. 60 1973 [Chicago]Field Museum of Natural History, 1973. url p. 139, p. 141.
• Advances in the study of mammalian behavior / edited by John F. Eisenberg and Devra G. Kleiman. [Stillwater, Okla.]: American Society of Mammalogists; 1983. url p. 165, p. 83.
• An environmental profile of the Black Sea Coast WCMC url p. 51, p. 67.
• Anatomischer Anzeiger. Jena: G. Fischer, 1886- url p. 9.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 314, p. 91.
• Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cie?ncias Naturais. Lisboa, Sociedade Portuguesa de Cie?ncias Naturais, 1908- url p. 100, p. 114.
• British journal of entomology and natural history. [London]: British Entomological and Natural History Society, 1988- url p. 31.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: BM(NH) url p. 29, p. 34.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1971- url p. 246, p. 249, p. 250, p. 251, p. 252, p. 253, p. 255, p. 256.
• Catalogue of the mammals of Western Europe (Europe exclusive of Russia) in the collection of the British Museum London: printed by order of the Trustees, 1912. url , , , , , , , , , , .
• Catalogue of the mammals of western Europe (Europe exclusive of Russia) in the collection of the British Museum / by Gerrit S. Miller. London: BMNH, 1912. url p. 1003, p. 1018, p. 343, p. 344, p. 345, p. 346, p. 347, p. 348, p. 349, p. 352, p. 353, p. 354.
• Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals 1758 to 1946 / by J.R. Ellerman and T.C.S. Morrison-Scott. London: BM(NH), 1966. url p. 271, p. 273, p. 274.
• Checklists for the CORINE Biotopes Programme and its application in the PHARE countries of Central and East Europe: including comparisons with relevant conventions and agreements on the conservation of European species and habitats EC url p. 14.
• Descriptive and illustrated catalogue of the physiological series of comparative anatomy contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. London, Taylor [and] Francis (pr.)1900-1902. url p. 284.
• Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. IUCN url p. 556, p. 771.
• Discovery reports. London; Cambridge University Press. url p. 483, p. 485.
• Effects of highways on wildlife and fish with special reference to Montana a ProCite literature collection / Bozeman, Mont.: Fish and Wildlife Management Program, Montana State University, 2001 url , , , , .
• Fauna and flora of Haileybury. Hartford, Stephen Austin, 1902. url p. 1.
• General embryological information service. Utrecht, Hubrecht Laboratory. url p. 21.
• General function of the gall bladder from the evolutionary standpoint, by Frank W. Gorham and Andrew Conway Ivy. 22 1938 Chicago, 1938. url p. 193.
• Great Basin naturalist memoirs. 1986 [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. url p. 149.
• Ground beetles (Carabidae) of Fennoscandia: a zoogeographic study / by Carl H. Lindroth; Joachim Adis, scientific editor. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation, 1989- url p. 793.
• Handbook to the natural history of Cambridgeshire, ed. by J.E. Marr. .. and A.E. Shipley. .. Cambridge, University press, 1904. url p. 55, p. 72.
• International catalogue of scientific literature. LondonPublished for the International Council by the Royal Society of London1901-1920 url p. 471.
• Journal of ethnobiology. 12-13 1992-1993 Flagstaff, Ariz.: Center for Western Studies, 1981- url p. 236.
• Journal of mammalogy. Baltimore, Md.: American Society of Mammalogists url p. 173.
• MAB Biosphere Reserves: Site Descriptions, post compilation 5 (October 1990) UNESCO MAB Programme url .
• MAB Information System: Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 4, October 1986: Supplement January 1988 UNESCO, IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url .
• Mammals of Eastern Asia / by G.H.H. Tate. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947. url p. 153, p. 154.
• Mammals of the Pacific world / [by] T.D. Carter, J.E. Hill [and] G.H.H. Tate. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1945. url p. 82.
• Mammals of the Soviet Union / V.G. Heptner, A.A. Nasimovich, and A.G. Bannikov; scientific editor, Robert S. Hoffmann. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation, 1988- url , p. 1231, p. 1232, p. 1239, p. 1432.
• Manual of elementary zoology. London, Oxford University Press, 1958. url p. 489, p. 750.
• North American fauna. Washington: Fish and Wildlife Service; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. url p. 408.
• Official lists and indexes of names and works in zoology. London, U.K.: International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, c/o Natural History Museum, 2001. url p. 125.
• Partridges and partridge manors, by Aymer Maxwell, with 16 illustrations in colour by George Rankin. London, A. & C. Black, 1911. url p. 205, p. 205.
• Proceedings and transactions of the South London Entomological & Natural History Society. London: The Society. url p. 12, p. 19, p. 4, p. 40.
• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia url p. 596, p. 596, p. 670.
• Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. Sydney, Linnean Society of New South Wales. url p. 125.
• Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh. Edinburgh: The Society, 1858-1955 url p. 393.
• Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 1994 [San Diego, Calif.]: San Diego Society of Natural History, 1990- url fig. 6, page 65, fig. 7, page 66.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] url p. 462, p. 982.
• Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. London: Academic Press, [etc.], 1833-1965. url , , , , , , p. 11, p. 144, p. 145, p. 272, p. 425, p. 426, p. 427, p. 431, p. 432, p. 478, p. 492, p. 500, p. 587, p. 589, p. 65, p. 66, p. 67, p. 69, p. 81, p. 823, p. 927, p. 956.
• Protected Landscapes: experience around the world. Prepared for the International Symposium on Protected Landscapes, Grange-over-Sands, England 5-10 October 1987 IUCN url p. 115, p. 143, p. 159, p. 171, p. 37.
• Readings in mammalogy / selected from the original literature and introduced with comments by J. Knox Jones, Jr., and Sydney Anderson. [Lawrence, Kans.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1970. url p. 235, p. 246.
• Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and financial report of the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents for the year ending June 30. .. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1933-1965. url p. 123, p. 88, p. 91, p. 93.
• Report on the progress and condition of the U.S. National Museum for the year ending June 30. .. / Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum. Washington: G.P.O., 1907-1951. url p. 87.
• Science. New York, N.Y.: [s.n.]1880- url p. 326.
• Selected readings in mammalogy: selected from the original literature and introduced with comments / by J. Knox Jones, Jr., Sydney Anderson, and Robert S. Hoffmann. Lawrence, Kan.: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1976. url p. 255, p. 266.
• Sex and internal secretions. Contributors: A. Albert [and others] Foreword by George W. Corner. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1961. url p. 873.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. 134 1958 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. url p. 143, p. 173, p. 95.
• Smithsonian year. 1965 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1965-1976. url p. 171.
• System of ophthalmology. St. Louis, Mosby, 1958- url p. 768.
• The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History. London, Taylor and Francis, Ltd. url p. 127, p. 308, p. 308, p. 384, p. 394, p. 394, p. 395, p. 395, p. 470, p. 470, p. 75.
• The Annals of Scottish natural history. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1892-1911. url p. 53.
• The Bulletin of zoological nomenclature. London, International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. url p. 87.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 105, p. 172, p. 243, p. 244, p. 257, p. 265, p. 272, p. 468, p. 519, p. 52, p. 577, p. 696.
• The Entomologist's monthly magazine. Oxford [etc.]Entomologist's Monthly Magazine Ltd. [etc.] url p. 101.
• The Marine Mammal Commission compendium of selected treaties, international agreements, and other relevant documents on marine resources, wildlife, and the environment / compiled by Richard L. Wallace. Washington, D.C.: The Commission; 1994 url p. 691.
• The Naturalist. 1895 [Doncaster: Yorkshire Naturalists' Union], 1874- url p. 108, p. 142, p. 233, p. 65.
• The Scottish naturalist. Arbroath [etc.]T. Buncle & Co. [etc.] url p. 281, p. 289.
• The Victoria history of Berkshire. edited by P.H. Ditchfield and William Page. [LondonConstable]1906-1923 url p. 170, p. 25.
• The Victoria history of the County of Hertford / edited by William Page. London: Published for the University of London, Institute of Historical Research by Dawsons of Pall Mall, [1971] url .
• The Victoria history of the county of Kent; ed. by William Page. London, Constable, 1908- url p. 302, p. 304, p. 32.
• The anthropology of Iraq. The Upper Euphrates / by Henry Field, Curator of Physical Anthropology. Chicago:Field Museum, 1940 url p. 160, p. 222.
• The auditory region of the arctoid carnivores. 29 1943 Chicago, 1943 url p. 47.
• The biology of the protozoa. Illus. with 223 engravings and 2 col. plates. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, 1933. url p. 373.
• The coccidian parasites (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) of carnivores / Urbana: University of Illinois Press, c1981. url p. 105, p. 110, p. 234, p. 84, p. 85.
• The determination of generic types: and a list of roundworm genera, with their original and type species / by Ch. Wardell Stiles and Albert Hassall. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, 1905. url p. 33.
• The fauna from the terminal Pleistocene of Palegawra Cave, a Zarzian occupation site in northeastern Iraq / Priscilla F. Turnbull -- and Charles A. Reed --. [Chicago]Field Museum of Natural History, 1974. url p. 92.
• The giant panda: a morphological study of evolutionary mechanisms / D. Dwight Davis. Chicago, U.S.A.: Chicago Natural History Museum, 1964. url page 243, table 23 .
• The influence of man on animal life in Scotland; study in faunal evolution, by James Ritchie. .. Cambridge: University press, 1920. url p. 184.
• The mammals of China and Mongolia / by Glover M. Allen. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1938-1940. url .
• The mammals of the Caucasus; a history of the evolution of the fauna. (Mlekopitayushchie Kavkaza; istoriya formirovaniya fauny). [By] N. K. Vereskchagin. Chief editor: E. N. Pavlovskii. Editor of this volume: A. A. Strelkov. Translated from Russian [by A. Lerman and B. Rabinovich. Edited by M. Loeb] Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translations [available from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, Springfield, Va.], 1967. url p. 141, p. 147, p. 173, p. 174, p. 178, p. 189, p. 205, p. 219, p. 233, p. 467, p. 94.
• The natural history of the USSR / Algirdas Knystautas; foreword by Vladimir Flint; [translation, John S. Scott]. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987. url p. 44.
• The naturalist. London: Simpkin, Marshall, 1865- url p. 184.
• The vertebrate fauna of Cheshire and Liverpool Bay / London: Witherby, 1910. url p. 27, p. 467.
• Variability of mammals = Izmenchivost' mlekopitayushchikh / A. V. Yablokov; rev. by the author for this ed.; scientific editor of translation, L. Van Valen. New Delhi: available from the U. S. Dept of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, 1974. url p. 319.
• Veröffentlichungen der Zoologischen Staatssammlung München. München: Die Staatssammlung, url p. 180, p. 244, p. 93, p. 98.
• Woodland creatures; being some wild life studies, by Frances Pitt. London, G. Allen & Unwin ltd.[1922] url p. 39.
• Zoologist. London.1843-1916 url p. 328.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Kranz, A., Tikhonov, A., Conroy, J., Cavallini, P., Herrero, J., Stubbe, M., Maran, T., Fernandes, M., Abramov, A. & Wozencraft, C. 2008. Meles meles. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 02February2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 17, 2007:

• Mammal Research Institute PAS, Mammal Collection
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
• Royal Ontario Museum, Mammal specimens
• UK National Biodiversity Network, Highland Biological Recording Group - HBRG Badger dataset
• UK National Biodiversity Network, Scottish Borders Biological Records Centre - SWT Scottish Borders Local Wildlife Site Survey data 1996-2000 - species information

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 105608
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-727152
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 1043097
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 621922
• IUCN ID: 222551
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 127972

Footnotes

1. Mean = 157.200 meters (515.748 feet), Standard Deviation = 191.940 based on 8,355 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
2. Kranz, A., Tikhonov, A., Conroy, J., Cavallini, P., Herrero, J., Stubbe, M., Maran, T., Fernandes, M., Abramov, A. & Wozencraft, C. 2008. Meles meles. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 02 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.