Melogale

Melogale is a genus of small mustelid known as ferret-badgers, the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Helictidinae, and comprises six recognized species: the Bornean ferret-badger (Melogale everetti), Chinese ferret-badger (Melogale moschata), Formosan ferret-badger (Melogale subaurantiaca), Javan ferret-badger (Melogale orientalis), Burmese ferret-badger (Melogale personata), and Vietnam ferret-badger (Melogale cucphuongensis). They are found across Southeast and East Asia, including Borneo, China, Taiwan, Java, Bali, Myanmar, and Vietnam, in habitats ranging from tropical forest to shrubland. Ferret-badgers typically measure 30 to 44 centimeters in body length with a 14 to 23 centimeter tail, combining a weasel-like shape with badger-like head, claws, and coloration, and feed mainly on invertebrates, insects, frogs, and carrion, supplemented by small mammals and fruit; several species are documented rabies vectors to humans, notably in Taiwan and China.