psy: Honey badger

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed across Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the sole living representative of the Mellivorinae subfamily of the Mustelidae. It has a fairly long body, with a distinctly thick-set and broad back, and remarkably loose skin, allowing the badger to turn and twist freely within it. The largest terrestrial mustelid in Africa, the honey badger measures 55 to 77 cm (22 to 30 in) long and weighs up to 16 kg (35 lb). Sexual dimorphism has been recorded in this species, with males being larger and heavier than females. It has two pairs of mammae, and an eversible anal pouch. The…

Evidence: 36 • authority: 72

Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the 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)…

Evidence: 33 • authority: 72