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The wolverine (), ''Gulo gulo'' (''Gulo'' is Latin for "glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae (weasels). It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. The wolverine, a solitary animal, has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself. The wolverine can be found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest numbers in northern Canada, the U.S. state of Alaska, the Nordic countries of Europe, and throughout western Russia and Siberia. Its population has experienced a steady decline since the 19th century in the face of trapping, range reduction and habitat fragmentation, such that they are essentially absent from the southern end of their European range. ==Taxonomy== Genetic evidence suggests that the wolverine is most closely related to the tayra and martens (scientific names ''Eira'' and ''Martes'', respectively), all of which shared a Eurasian ancestor. Within the ''Gulo'' genus, a clear separation occurs between two subspecies: the Old World form ''Gulo gulo gulo'' and the New World form ''G. g. luscus''. Some authors had described as many as four additional North American subspecies, including ones limited to Vancouver Island (''G. g. vancouverensis'') and the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska (''G. g. katschemakensis''). However, the most currently accepted taxonomy recognizes either the two continental subspecies or recognize ''G. gulo'' as a single Holarctic taxon.〔 Recently compiled genetic evidence suggests most of North America's wolverines are descended from a single source, likely originating from Beringia during the last glaciation and rapidly expanding thereafter, though considerable uncertainty to this conclusion is due to the difficulty of collecting samples in the extremely depleted southern extent of the range.〔 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「Wolverine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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