Hodgson states that the tail of M. leucurus was only one-fourth the length of
the body and head, while, including the hair of its extremity, it was half the length
of the animal. But as his specimen was a flat skin, not much reliance can he
placed on the relative proportions of the tail to the body. A. M.-Edwards and
Dr. Gray have suggested that this is the species referred to by Middendorff and
Schrenck as varieties of the European badger.
Another species has been described from Tibet by Blyth as Meles albogularis,1
and although he had never seen the skull, he was of the opinion that Hodgson in
describing and figuring his Taxidea leucurus had depicted its body, but the skull
of the Tibetan Meles albogularis as that of T. leucurus. He also states, and in
this I agree with hi™, that there can be no doubt of the specific distinction of
the two animals. AT. leucurus has a black throat and no band passing up from
the angle of the mouth to the ear, while Jf. albogularis has a white throat and a
dark-brown band from the gape to the ear. Hodgson has also described from Tibet
M. isonyx, a a badger of the same size and general characters as M. albogularis, also
distinguished by its white throat and by a brown band from the gape to the
ear. I have examined the types of both of these species, and do not find that
they differ in any respect from each other, and both of them are from Tibet. The
characters of these species have been fully described by Blyth and Hodgson. I
have examined the types of M. ieucolcemu§, 8 A. M.-Edwards, and A. obscurus,4
A. M.-Edwards, both of which are white-throated badgers, one from China and the
other from Tibet. The last is about half the size of the first mentioned, but so
closely resembles it in its head-markings and general characters, that it appears to me
that it will, in all probability prove to be a young individual of M. leucolcemus, which,
I think, will also be found to be identical with M. albogularis, Blyth. A. M.-
Edwards states that A. obscurus is characterised by a shorter and less bushy tail
than A. collaris, by the fronto-nasal band ceasing on the middle of the sinciput,
by its brown cheeks, and by the white of the throat not being prolonged all round
the base of the neck. A white spot also is mentioned as existing below the eye.
A dark-brown band extends from the base of the ear to behind the angle of the
mouth and spreads itself on to the chin. M. albogularis, Blyth, has a shorter tail!
than the European badger, the fronto-nasal band contracts between the eyes, and is
not continued further back than between the ears. The dark lateral bands of the
head expand behind the eyes and merge on the occiput, with the grizzled hue of
the back; the cheeks have little white below the eye, and any that there is, is ill
defined, and is bounded below by a narrow, dark-brown stripe from the ear to the
angle of the mouth; the throat is white. The striking similarity of these two
descriptions and the observation of the animals lead me, as I have said, to believe in
their specific identity.
1 Journ. As. Soc., Bengal, vol. xxii (1853), p. 590.
* Proc. Zool. Sjjc., 1856, p. 398, pi. i. .
3 Rech. des Mamin. (1868-74), pp. 195-205, pis. xxiv and xxviii, et Ann. des Sc. Nat., 5th Series, 1867, vol. via,
p. 374.
4 Rech. des Mamin. (1868-74, pp. 338-341, pi. lxii et pi. lviii, fig. 2;
The two examples of M. leucolcemus in the Paris Museum, which I have
examined, somewhat differ from each other, The specimen figured by A. M.-Edwards
is not so dark as the other, which is larger and has the dark-brown band through the
eye very much less defined, and the white of the cheek more intense, and covering
a much larger area than in the type. In both, a dark-brown hand or line extends
from the angle of the mouth upwards in the direction of the ear. In the type this
band is more expanded than in the other, and joins the dark area between the eye
and ear, whereas in the latter it does not join the dark aural area, and the white of
the cheek is thus in this specimen prolonged directly backwards to the white on the
side of the neck, whereas in the type the white below the eye is closed in posteriorly
by the hand from the mouth to the ear. In the non-figured example, the white of
the naso-frontal region is prolonged beyond the eyes on to the vertex, where it spreads
itself, even between the eyes and ears, as the dark-brown band from the snout
backwards is interrupted between the eyes and ears, although the eyes are encircled
with dark-brown, whereas in the type this latter band is continuous from the
snout to the ears, add the white naso-frontal hand contracts on the vertex, beyond
which it is hackwardly prolonged as a narrow line. The figured specimen, which is
the smaller 'of the two, more closely resembles M. obscurus than the adult, hut the
differences between the three are so slight, that they appear to be examples of one
species, differing only in age. The type of M. isonyx closely corresponds with them.
The white, naso-frontal band extends backwards over the vertex and passes gradually
into the colour of the nape. The narrow, dark-brown hand from the snout passes
backwards to the ears, surrounds the eye, and expands behindit and involves the ear,
which is white-tipped, as in M. leucolcemus and M. albogularis. A narrow, dark-brown
band passes from the angle of the mouth to the dark area below the ear, and a white
. area is thus enclosed on the oheeks below the eyes. The throat is white, and this hue
passes upwards on to the side of the neck, as in M. leucolcemus, behind the brown
band from the angle of the mouth. The limbs, chests, and belly are black, of variable
intensity on the last two regions. The tail is white, and apparently shorter
than in M. leucurus, Hodgson.
Allied to Meles taxus is the M. cmakwma,' Temm., from Japan, and which
Dr. Gray* also regarded as identical with the M. taxus vur. of Middendorff, and the
M. taxus var. amrnrensis, Schrenck, whilst at the same time he thought it probable
that the latter might turn out to be M. chinensis.
A. M.-Edwards’ has given a very just estimate of the relations in which the
badgers with short and with long palates stand to each other, and has pointed out
that there are no sufficient reasons for regarding the unimportant modifications of
structure which these long-palated forms exhibit as of' generic importance, and he
would therefore rank them as of sub-generic value.
1 Fauna Japónica (2842), p. 30. pi. vi. figs. 1-6.
3 Cat. Camiv. Mamm. B. M. 1869, p. 125.
s Z .c .