Taxidea is a genus of mustelid carnivore containing a single living species, the American badger (Taxidea taxus), found across the western, central, and northeastern United States, northern Mexico, and south-central Canada into southwestern British Columbia. It favors open grasslands and prairie with sandy loam soils where it can dig for burrowing prey such as mice, squirrels, and groundhogs. The American badger has a stocky, low-slung body with short powerful legs, huge foreclaws up to five centimeters long, and a grizzled brown, black, and white coat marked by a distinctive black and white facial pattern with a white stripe running from the nose to the back of the head. Adults measure roughly 60 to 75 centimeters in length, with males weighing up to 8.6 kilograms and females averaging 6.3 to 7.2 kilograms. Though it resembles the European badger, it is not closely related to it. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
Living or Extinct Taxonomic Rank In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Canada, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Mexico, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: United States, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ11950979, descriptionView the Source 2. American badger
Introduction
The American badger (Taxidea taxus) is a North American badger similar in appearance to the European badger, although not closely related.
- Taxonomic rank (structure-wave classification, ruling 761/926)
View the SourceWikidata: Taxidea
Wikidata Q232129, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.