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Mellivorinae

Honey badger
Temporal range: middle Pliocene – Recent
Mellivora capensis in Howletts Wild Animal Park.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Mellivorinae
Genus: Mellivora
Storr, 1780
Species: M. capensis
Binomial name
Mellivora capensis
(Schreber, 1776)
Mellivora capensis distribution.png
Distribution

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the ratel (/ˈrtəl/ or /ˈrɑːtəl/), is the only species in the mustelid subfamily Mellivorinae and its only genus Mellivora. It is native to Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Despite its name, the honey badger does not closely resemble other badger species; instead, it bears more anatomical similarities to weasels. It is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN owing to its extensive range and general environmental adaptations. It is primarily a carnivorous species and has few natural predators because of its thick skin and ferocious defensive abilities.

Ratel is an Afrikaans word, possibly derived from the Middle Dutch word raat for honeycomb (either because of its cry or its taste for honey).

The honey badger is the only species of the genus Mellivora. Although in the 1860s it was assigned to the badger subfamily, the Melinae, it is now generally agreed that it bears very few similarities to the Melinae. It is much more closely related to the marten subfamily, Mustelinae, but furthermore is assigned its own subfamily, Mellivorinae. Differences between Mellivorinae and Melinae include differences in their dentition formulae. Though not in the same subfamily as the wolverines, which are a genus of large-sized and atypical Mustelinae, the honey badger can be regarded as another, analogous, form of outsized weasel or polecat.


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Wikipedia

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