FIELD BOOK OF MAMMALS 



Subfamily Taxidiinae. American Badgers 



Form robust; legs short; toes not webbed; claws large and 

 strong, fossorial in type; tail moderately short; pelage long 

 and loose. 



Genus Taxidea 



Dentition: Incisors, f ; Canines, \; Premolars, 



Molars. 



34. 



American Badger. — Taxidea taxus 



and related forms 



Names. — American Badger; Common Badger; Blaireau 

 (French Canadian). Plate XI. 



General Description. — A large, powerful member of the 

 Weasel family, with heavy body; short, bushy tail; long, 



Fig. 32. American Badger 



shaggy pelage; and grizzled gray color. Head comparatively 

 small, broad and flat rather than rounded; ears low and 

 rounded; neck short; body low and squat, robust; legs short 

 and powerful; feet with five toes, claws large and well devel- 

 oped, especially on forefeet where they are over an inch in 

 length; tail short, thick and bushy; pelage very long and loose; 

 habit semifossorial. 



Color. — Sexes colored alike; no marked change in color with 

 the seasons. 



Upperparts. — Silvery gray grizzled with black in general 

 impression, the hairs dirty gray at base, then grayish white 

 followed by a narrow black band and tipped with silvery 



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