343 



meles MELES Linnaeus. 

 (Synonymy under subspecies.) 



Type locality. — Upsala, Sweden. 



Geographical distribution. — Europe, west to Ireland, south to 

 the Mediterranean and north to central Scandinavia. Eastern 

 limits of range not known. 



Diagnosis. — Size large (upper length of skull in adult more 

 than 120 mm. ; maxillary tooth-row, exclusive of incisors, about 

 40 mm. or more ; hind foot about 90 to 110 mm.) ; auditory bulla 

 moderately inflated, the highest region close to inner margin and 

 forming an evident longitudinal ridge, the region between ridge 

 and meatus noticeably concave ; teeth large, the two lower molars 

 together 22 mm. or more in length ; postero-external border of 

 upper molar usually convex, though occasionally straight or 

 slightly concave. 



External characters.- — Pelage coarse and loose, practically 

 without underfur, the hairs at middle of back about 60 mm. in 

 length, those on sides longer ; underparts scantily haired, the 

 skin usually visible ; palm bare, usually with a slight bristly 

 pubescence at middle in area between tubercles ; a large 

 tubercular mass at base of digits, convex in front, concave behind, 

 wider on outer border than on inner border, showing no tendency 

 to trilobation ; a roundish tubercle about half as large at postero- 

 external border of palm, separated from anterior mass by a wide 

 space ; a small, ill-defined pad at base of thumb ; sole densely 

 haired from heel to a little beyond middle, then completely naked ; 

 plantar tubercles essentially like those on palm except that 

 small pad at base of hallux is absent, and the two large masses 

 tend to coalesce, owing to absence of the wide intervening space ; 

 surface of pads on both palms and sole finely rugose, this 

 especially noticeable in dried specimens ; muzzle pad entirely 

 naked, but separated from upper lip by a narrow hairy band. 

 Mamma; : a 2-2, i 1-1 = 6. 



Colour. — Back and sides a coarse grizzle of black and bufly 

 ■white, the black usually predominating on back, the lighter 

 colour on sides. Throat, median ventral area and all four legs 

 and feet black or blackish ; face, chin and entire neck (except 

 underside) clear whitish except for a broad dark brown or black 

 band beginning on each side about 15 mm. behind nostril pad 

 and extending back, including eye and ear, to middle of neck, 

 where it fades insensibly into colour of back ; width of white 

 median area on face usually greater than that of the dark lateral 

 stripe, and about equal to that of the light area between lateral 

 stripe and dark ventral area ; ear black, its anterior border 

 white in strong contrast ; eye usually a little below middle of 

 dark band ; tail like back at base, soon fading to soiled white. 



Skull. — Except for the greatly developed sagittal crest, the 



