Meles (genus)
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Three species of the genus Meles |
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Meles is a genus of Eurasian badgers that has long been considered monospecific , but has recently been divided into four parapatric species. The European badger inhabits Europe eastwards to the Volga , the Asian badger is found in large parts of Asia up to the Amur region , the Transcaucasian badger is found in the Middle East and southern Central Asia, the Japanese badger in Japan . Together with the pig badger , they form the subfamily of the Melinae .
description
The four species of this genus are strongly built, clumsy-looking martens, which with their compact shape are optimally adapted to a life in self-dug earth structures. The head is relatively small and hardly set off from the short neck, the trunk-shaped, elongated nose protrudes above the upper lip by at least 1.5 cm. The nasal mirror is wide and round. The round auricles are relatively small. The trunk is wider at the back than at the front, the tail and extremities are quite short. The broad paws in the front have long, non-retractable digging claws, while the rear claws are shorter. Presumably the front claws grow back faster than the rear ones in adaptation to constant digging activity. Badgers stand between sole and toe walkers in their locomotion . When stepping on, only the balls of the fingers and the ball of the hand are placed on the ground, while the ball of the carpal does not touch the same. The soles are hairless. Female badgers carry three pairs of teats, which are also found as nipples in males. The subcaudal gland, which lies between the root of the tail and the anus , is shaped as a 2–6 cm deep pocket, and on both sides of the anus there are the typical anal pouches. The secreted secretion presumably serves the individual recognition and the recognition of belonging to a family group. Scent tags are placed in numerous places in a territory, particularly often on its borders.
The head body length is between 50 and 90 cm, the largest members of the genus on average are found in the Caucasus region ( Meles meles heptneri ), the southern populations of the Japanese badger are the smallest.
hide
The head shows a characteristic and conspicuous, black and white stripe pattern, which in the Japanese badger is only very blurred and in some individuals of this species is limited to two dark eye spots. The function of this high-contrast drawing has not been conclusively clarified. Similar to the striped pattern of the Skunks , it could have a warning effect on enemies, which, however, would probably benefit young animals in particular, since adult badgers hardly have any natural enemies. According to another theory, it could represent a distinguishing feature for conspecifics that is clearly visible in the semi-darkness even at greater distances.
The fur on the rest of the top is - especially in some East Asian forms - quite long-haired. In front of the light end of the hair there is a dark area that is about 1/3 the length of the hair. The underside is hairy dark brown to black, on the belly the coat is very thin and lets the bare skin shine through.
Trunk-shaped snout and teeth on a dead European badger
The long front claws are well suited for digging
The soles are hairless
Thin stomach hair, in the picture two of the three pairs of teats
Dentition and skeleton
The composition of the dentition corresponds to the omnivorous diet: it is partly typical carnivorous dentition with sharp incisors and canines as well as anterior premolars ; the posterior premolars and molars are designed more for a grinding activity.
The skull is massive and relatively heavy at 140 g. It has broad zygomatic arches and a pronounced sagittal ridge that can be up to 16 mm high. This is where the extremely strong temporal muscle comes into play, which is largely responsible for the badger's extraordinary biting force. The temporomandibular joint is very robustly built: the articular process is encapsulated by the joint surface on the temporal bone , so that the lower jaw can hardly be detached from the rest of the skull without damage.
The postcranial skeleton stands out due to the strong bones of the limbs as well as the trunk spine, which is untypically long for martens .
As with all species of marten, the nature of the penis bones ( baculum ) is an important diagnostic feature . This can be used both to determine the age and to clarify taxonomic relationships within the genus. The Bacula of the four species differ significantly in terms of length, cross-section, curvature and shape of the distal "head part". This supports genetic and dental morphological findings and did not contribute negligibly to the division of the genus into four species.
Senses
Conclusions about the senses are mainly made possible by the characteristics of the different brain regions. In badgers, the olfactory bulbs and the cerebellum - involved in processing olfactory and acoustic perceptions - are well developed. The part of the midbrain that is responsible for optical perception, on the other hand, is relatively small. These findings are supported by behavioral observations. The badger's ability to see seems less focused on details and sharpness, but more on the rough recognition of shapes. Bright daylight can severely impair the ability to see, because although the eyes are unusually small for a nocturnal animal, with a very high number of rods and the characteristic of a tapetum lucidums they are well designed for seeing in low light. But the most important sensory perception is the sense of smell. Like the turbinates , this is extremely highly developed. Behavioral observations document the extraordinary ability to differentiate and orientate with regard to smells. The hearing ability is probably similar to that of humans, but is much better developed in the high-pitched range.
distribution
The transpalearctic distribution area of the genus extends from Western Europe to the Amur region and Japan. In northern Europe it extends north to about 67 ° north latitude, in northeast Asia only to about 55 ° N. The southern edge runs along the European Mediterranean coast , through the extreme north of the Arabian Peninsula and north of the Persian Gulf , along the highlands of Tibet and is in East Asia at about 20 ° N.
Way of life
The four Eurasian badger species of the genus Meles mainly inhabit richly structured, wooded and hilly terrain. It is not uncommon for them to be found in the cultural landscape, sometimes also in the outskirts of urban settlement areas. They are mostly crepuscular and nocturnal and live in sometimes very extensive, self-dug earth structures, which are used both as accommodation during the day and for raising young. Badgers live in family groups, which usually consist of one or more females with their offspring from up to two consecutive years. While in the European badger one or more males belong to the "clan" and are only banned from the burrow during the birth of the females, in the Japanese badger the males seem to live as solitary animals and only maintain occasional contact with different females. The diet consists mainly of worms and insects. However, if these are less available due to the season, the proportion of plant-based food such as berries or fruits can increase sharply. If the opportunity arises, however, other sources of food are sometimes used extensively, including bee and wasp nests, carrion or small animals.
literature
- Michael Stubbe, Franz Krapp (ed.): Handbook of Mammals in Europe , Raubsäuger (Part 2), Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden 1993, ISBN 978-3-89104-029-4
- Earnest G. Neal: The Natural History of Badgers , Croom Helm Ltd., London / Sidney 1986, ISBN 0-7099-1831-3
- Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1
- Wilson, DE, and DM Reeder: Mammal Species of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexei V. Abramov & Andrey Yu. Puzachenko: The taxonomic status of badgers (Mammalia, Mustelidae) from Southwest Asia based on cranial morphometrics, with the redescription of Meles canescens. Zootaxa 3681 (1): 044-058, Jun. 2013, doi: 10.11646 / zootaxa.3681.1.2
- ↑ Stubbe / Krapp (1993), p. 856, s. literature
- ^ Neal (1986), p. 17, p. literature
- ↑ Lüps / Wandeler (1993), p. 889, Neal (1986), p. 16 (see literature) and P. David Polly, Norman MacLeod: Locomotion in Fossil Carnivora: An Application of Eigensurface Analysis for Morphometric Comparison of 3D Surfaces ( PDF; 769 kB) , p. 4
- ↑ Stubbe / Krapp (1993), p. 870, s. literature
- ↑ Meles anakuma in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Kaneko, Y. & Sasaki, H., 2008. Accessed March 20, 2011th
- ↑ Neal (1986), pp. 24f, s. literature
- ↑ a b Stubbe / Krapp (1993), p. 859, s. literature
- ↑ Neal (1986), p. 31, p. literature
- ↑ Gennady F. Baryshnikov, Olaf RP Bininda-Emonds, Alexei V. Abramov: Morphological Variability and Evolution of the Baculum (Os Penis) In Mustelidae (Carnivora) , Journal of Mammalogy , 84 (2), 2003, pp. 673-690
- ↑ Neal (1986), p. 30 and Stubbe / Krapp (1993), p. 862f, s. literature
- ↑ Alexei V. Abramov: Variation of the baculum structure of the Palearctic badger (Carnivora, Mustelidae, Meles) , Russian Journal of Theriology 1 (1), 2002, pp. 57-60
- ↑ Neal (1986), pp. 87f, s. literature