The Woodchester Park Badger Research project became part of The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) on 1 April 2009.
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Eurasian badger (Meles meles) Ecology: CLASSIFICATION
Mustelids evolved from the miacids, making
their appearance during the early Miocene
epoch 25 million years ago. The earliest
known relative of the badger was a fast swimming
otter like animal known as Potamotherium.
It was abundant in the freshwater lakes of
central France. In the Pliocene era, a mustelid
from the genus Melododon was found in China and it is from this species
that today's European Badger (Meles meles) is thought to have evolved.
The earliest fossil remains of the European
badger (Meles meles) have been dated as far back as 2 million
years ago, although fossil evidence in the
United Kingdom only dates back as far as
250,000 years ago.
Family: Mustelidae (mustelids)
Subfamily: Melinae (true badgers)
1. European badger (Meles meles)
2. American badger (Taxidea taxus)
3. Hog badger (Arctonyx collaris)
4. Palawan or Calamian stink badger (Suillotaxus marchei)
5. Teledu or Indonesian stink badger (Mydaus javensis)
6. Ferret badgers
6.1. Short toothed ferret badger or Chinese ferret badger (Melogale mosquata)
6.2. Large toothed ferret badger or Burmese ferret badger (Melogale personata)
6.3. Borneo ferret badger or Everett's ferret badger (Melogale everetti)
Subfamily: Mellivorinae
7. Honey badger (Mellivora capensisi)
Other members of the badger family include: Weasels, Skunks, Otters, Ermines (Stoats), Martens, Wolverines and Ferrets.
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Hog Badger Chinese ferret badger Burmese ferret badger Palawan stink badger Everett's ferret badger Teledu American Badger Eurasian badger Honey badger |
The European (or Eurasian) badger has the widest distribution of all the species. At the other end of the spectrum, the Asian ferret badgers are listed in the IUCN Red Data Book as K, which means that they are suspected of being in some way threatend or endangered, but their status is not known for certain because of lack of information. |
