CHAPTER IX 



Subfamily MELINiE : The Badgers. 



The genus Taxidea — Generic characters and comparison with Meles — Taxidea 

 americana, the American Badger — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific charac- 

 ters — Description of external characters — Description of the skull and 

 teeth — Geographical variation in the skull — History of the American 

 Badger — Its geographical distribution — Habits — Taxidea americana var. 

 derlandieri, the Mexican Badger — Synonymy — Habitat — Subspecific char- 

 acters — General remarks. — Addendum : Description of the perineal glands 

 of the European Badger, Meles vulgaris. 



ANIMALS of this subfamily inhabit Europe, Asia, and 

 America. There are four well-marked genera, though 

 the species are so few : the European Meles, the Asiatic 3Iy- 

 dans and ArctonyXj and the American Taxidea, long time con- 

 founded with Meles. 



1 have already (p. 10) given the characters by which the 

 North American representative of the Melince is distinguished 

 from our other subfamilies. The expressions used, however, 

 are rather diagnostic of the particular genus Taxidea than of 

 the subfamily Melince at large, the various members of which 

 differ sufficiently to require greater latitude of definition. It 

 being not to my present purpose to consider the Melince fur- 

 ther than as represented by the American genus, we may at 

 once take up the latter. 



The Genus TAXIDEA. (Waterh.) 



X Ursiis, pt., of Schreber. 



< Meles, Taxus, of authors referring to the North American Badger. 



= Taxidea, Waterhouse, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. vi. 1838, 154 ; Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. ii. pt, v. 

 1841, 3i3.—Baird, Mamm. IST. A. 1857, 201, and of late authors generally. 



3_3 1-1 , 3-3 1-1 16 



Generic characters. — Dental formula : i. o^o, c. r^, ^mi 



m. 



3-3' 1-1' ^ 3-3' • 2-2 18 



34.* Back ripper molar a right-angled triangle, with hypothenuse postero- 



*Prof. Baird (M. N. A., 201), after correctly stating the dental formula, 

 makes the total "32" instead of 34, by an obvious slip of the pen. He 

 further states, "In young specimens there is an additional premolar, (first,) 



261 



