Editing Badger (section)

{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Short-legged omnivore}}
{{Other uses}}
{{EngvarB|date = May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| name              = Badger
| image             = Badger laying on ground. - DPLA - 0335977b4d1504edc799834081ca4fd5.jpg
| image_alt         = refer to caption
| image_caption     = An [[American badger]]
| auto              = yes
| parent            = Musteloidea
| includes          = {{bulleted list
  | genera of family [[Mustelidae]]: {{bulleted list
    | ''[[Arctonyx]]'' (hog badgers)
    | ''[[Meles (genus)|Meles]]'' (Eurasian badgers)
    | ''[[Melogale]]'' (ferret-badgers)
    | ''[[Mellivora]]'' (honey badgers)
    | {{extinct}}''[[Chamitataxus]]'' (extinct North American badgers from the [[Miocene]])
    | {{extinct}}''[[Pliotaxidea]]'' (extinct North American badgers from the [[Pliocene]])
    | ''[[Taxidea]]'' (modern North American badgers)
    }}
  | genera of family [[Mephitidae]]: {{bulleted list
    | ''[[Mydaus]]'' (stink badgers)
    }}
  }}
| range_map         = Badger species map.png
| range_map_caption = Mustelid badger ranges
{{Leftlegend|#ffce00|[[Honey badger]] (''Mellivora capensis'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#bc000f|[[American badger]] (''Taxidea taxus'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#008f8f|[[European badger]] (''Meles meles'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#009800|[[Asian badger]] (''Meles leucurus'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#84f500|[[Japanese badger]] (''Meles anakuma'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#0000ff|[[Chinese ferret-badger]] (''Melogale moschata'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#1200b7|[[Burmese ferret-badger]] (''Melogale personata'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#1a85f1|[[Javan ferret-badger]] (''Melogale orientalis'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
{{Leftlegend|#8d00c7|[[Bornean ferret-badger]] (''Melogale everetti'')|size=60%|outline=white}}
}}
[[File:Badger-badger.jpg|right|thumb|[[European badger]]]]
'''Badgers''' are medium-sized short-legged [[omnivore]]s in the [[superfamily (taxonomy)|superfamily]] [[Musteloidea]]. Badgers are a [[polyphyletic]] rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for [[fossorial]] activity rather than by their ancestral relationships: Musteloidea contains several families, only two of which (the "weasel family" [[Mustelidae]] and the "skunk family" [[Mephitidae]]) include badgers; moreover, both of these families also include various other animals that are not badgers.

The fifteen [[species]] of mustelid badgers are grouped in four subfamilies: four species of Melinae (genera ''Meles'' and ''Arctonyx'') including the [[European badger]], five species of Helictidinae (genus ''Melogale'') or [[ferret-badger]], the [[honey badger]] or ratel Mellivorinae (genus ''Mellivora''), and the [[American badger]] Taxideinae (genus ''Taxidea''). Badgers include the most [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] mustelids; the American badger is the most basal of all, followed successively by the ratel and the Melinae; the estimated split dates are about 17.8, 15.5 and 14.8&nbsp;million years ago, respectively.<ref name="Law-2018" />

The two species of Asiatic [[stink badger]]s of the genus ''Mydaus'' were formerly included within Melinae (and thus Mustelidae), but more recent genetic evidence indicates these are actually members of the [[skunk]] family (Mephitidae).<ref name = "Goswami2010">{{cite book|author1= Goswami, Anjali  |author2= Friscia, Anthony  |name-list-style=amp | title= Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form and Function| date= 2010| publisher= Cambridge University Press| isbn= 978-0-521-73586-5|page= 30|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HPw0C2i8QXkC&pg=PA30}}</ref>

Badger [[mandibular condyle]]s connect to long cavities in their skulls, which gives resistance to jaw dislocation and increases their bite grip strength.<ref name="Chisholm 1911, p. 188">{{EB1911 |mode=cs2 |inline=1 |wstitle=Badger |volume=3 |page=188 }}</ref> This in turn limits jaw movement to hinging open and shut, or sliding from side to side, but it does not hamper the twisting movement possible for the jaws of most [[mammal]]s.

Badgers have rather short, wide bodies, with short legs for digging. They have elongated, weasel-like heads with small ears. Their tails vary in length depending on species; the stink badger has a very short tail, while the ferret-badger's tail can be {{convert|46|-|51|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, depending on age. They have black faces with distinctive white markings, grey bodies with a light-coloured stripe from head to tail, and dark legs with light-coloured underbellies. They grow to around {{convert|90|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, including tail.

The European badger is one of the largest; the American badger, the hog badger, and the honey badger are generally a little smaller and lighter. Stink badgers are smaller still, and ferret-badgers are the smallest of all. They weigh around {{convert|9|-|11|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, while some Eurasian badgers weigh around {{convert|18|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpages/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205092802/http://www.badgers.org.uk/badgerpages/| archive-date=5 February 2012| title=Badger Pages: Photos of and facts about the badgers of the world | publisher=Badgers.org.uk | access-date=31 December 2011}}</ref>