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Badger

Taxidea taxus

Description:

Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies (see links in species list hereafter): Melinae (badgers of Europe and Asia), Mellivorinae (the Ratel or honey badger), and Taxideinae (the American badger). The Asiatic stink badgers of the genus Mydaus were formerly included in the Melinae and Mustelidae, but recent genetic evidence[1] indicates that these are actually members of the skunk family, placing them in the taxonomic family Mephitidae. Badgers include the species in the genera Meles, Arctonyx, Taxidea and Mellivora species. Their lower jaw is articulated to the upper by means of a transverse condyle firmly locked into a long cavity of the cranium, so that dislocation of the jaw is all but impossible. This enables the badger to maintain its hold with the utmost tenacity, but limits its jaw movement to hinging open and shut, or sliding from side to side without the twisting movement possible for the jaws of most mammals. Badgers have rather short, fat bodies, with short legs built for digging. Their ears are small, and they have elongated weasel-like heads, their tails vary in length depending on species, the stink badger has a very short tail, while the ferret badger's tail can be 18 to 20 inches (46 to 51 cm) long, depending on age. They have black faces with distinctive white markings, their bodies are gray with a light colored stripe from their head to their tail, they have dark legs with light colored stomachs. They grow to around 35 inches (89 cm) in length including tail. the European badger is one of the largest, the American badger, the hog badger and the honey badger are similar in size and weight, though generally a little smaller and lighter. The stink badgers are smaller still, and the ferret badgers are the smallest of all. They weigh around 20–24 pounds (9.1–11 kg) on average, with some Eurasian badgers weighing in at around 40 pounds (18 kg

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Rock Springs, Wyoming, USA

Spotted on Aug 4, 2006
Submitted on Apr 2, 2012

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