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Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae which also includes the otters, polecats, weasels and wolverines. They belong to the caniform sub-order of the Carnivoran mammals. The 11 species of badger are grouped in three subfamilies: Melinae (Eurasian badgers), Mellivorinae (the honey badger or ratel) and Taxideinae (the American badger). The Asiatic stink badgers of the genus ''Mydaus'' were formerly included within Melinae (and thus Mustelidae), but recent genetic evidence indicates these are actually members of the skunk family, placing them in the taxonomic family Mephitidae. Badgers include the species in the genera ''Meles'', ''Arctonyx'', ''Taxidea'' and ''Mellivora''. Their lower jaws are articulated to the upper by means of transverse condyles firmly locked into long cavities of the skull, so dislocation of the jaw is all but impossible. This enables the badgers to maintain their hold with the utmost tenacity, but limits jaw movement to hinging open and shut, or sliding from side to side without the twisting movement possible for the jaws of most mammals. Badgers have rather short, fat 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 long, depending on age. They have black faces with distinctive white markings, gray bodies with a light-coloured stripe from head to tail, and dark legs with light coloured underbellies. They grow to around 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. The stink badgers are smaller still, and the ferret badgers are the smallest of all. They weigh around on average, with some Eurasian badgers weighing in at around . == Etymology == The derivation of the word "badger", originally applied to the European badger (''Meles meles''), is uncertain. It possibly comes from the French word ''bêcheur'' (digger).〔Neal, Ernest G. and Cheeseman, C. L. (1996) ''Badgers'', p. 2, T. & A.D. Poyser ISBN 0-85661-082-8〕 The Oxford English Dictionary states it probably derives from "badge" + ''-ard'', referring to the white mark borne like a badge on its forehead. The less common name "brock" (Old English: ''brocc''), (Scots: ''brock'') is a Celtic loanword (cf. Gaelic ''broc'' and Welsh ''broch'', from Proto-Celtic '' *brokko'') meaning "grey".〔 The Proto-Germanic term was '' *þahsuz'' (cf. German ''Dachs'', Dutch ''das'', Norwegian ''svin''-''toks''; Early Modern English: ''dasse''), probably from the PIE root '' *tek'-'' "to construct," so the badger would have been named after its digging of setts (tunnels); the Germanic term '' *þahsuz'' became ''taxus'' or ''taxō'', -''ōnis'' in Latin glosses, replacing ''mēlēs'' ("marten" or "badger"), and from these words the common Romance terms for the animal evolved (Italian ''tasso'', French ''taisson'' — ''blaireau'' is now more common —, Catalan ''toixó'', Spanish ''tejón'', Portuguese ''texugo''). A male badger is a boar, a female is a sow, and a young badger is a cub. A collective name suggested for a group of badgers is a cete,〔(Hints and Things: collective nouns ) Retrieved 28 June 2010.〕 but badger colonies are more often called clans. A badger's home is called a sett.〔http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/wildlife/badger.pdf〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Badger」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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