Meles (genus)
| Meles Temporal range: Early Pleistocene to present | |
|---|---|
| Meles meles, M. leucurus, and M. anakuma. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Subfamily: | Melinae |
| Genus: | Meles Brisson, 1762 |
| Type species | |
| [Ursus] meles Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
|
† Meles hollitzeri | |
| Ranges of the four (considered three in map) extant species | |
Meles is a genus of badgers containing four living species known as Eurasian badgers, the Japanese badger (Meles anakuma), Asian badger (Meles leucurus), Caucasian badger (Meles canescens) and European badger (Meles meles). In an older categorization, they were seen as a single species with three subspecies (Meles meles anakuma, Meles meles leucurus and Meles meles meles). There are also several extinct members of the genus. They are members of the subfamily Melinae of the weasel family, Mustelidae.