Mellivora
{{Short description|Genus of mammals}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Late Miocene - Recent
| image = Honey Badger Mellivora capensis Jerusalem Al Quds by Prof Dr Norman Ali Khalaf 2013.jpg
| image_caption = Honey badger (Mellivora capensis)
| parent_authority = Gray, 1865{{cite journal|last1=Gray |first1=J. E. |title= Revision of the genera and species of Mustelidae contained in the British Museum |journal= Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |year=1865 |pages=100–154 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofgen65zool/page/102}}
| taxon = Mellivora
| authority = Storr, 1780
| type_species = Viverra ratel{{MSW3|id=14001292}}
| type_species_authority = Sparrman, 1777
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
- Mellivora capensis
- {{extinct}}Mellivora benfieldi
- {{extinct}}Mellivora sivalensis
}}
Mellivora is a genus of mustelids that contains the honey badger or ratel (Mellivora capensis). It is also the sole living representative of the subfamily Mellivorinae. Additionally, two extinct species are known. The honey badger is native to much of Africa and South Asia, while fossil relatives occurred in those areas and Southern Europe.
Taxonomy
The genus Mellivora probably evolved from the more primitive {{extinct}}Promellivora punjabiensis of India (which itself was formerly classified as M. punjabiensis). The two genera are grouped together in the tribe Eomellivorini together with the extinct giant mustelids {{extinct}}Eomellivora and {{extinct}}Ekorus.{{cite journal |last1= Valenciano |first1= A. |last2= Govender |first2= R. |date= July 2020 |title= New fossils of Mellivora benfieldi (Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae) from Langebaanweg, 'E' Quarry (South Africa, Early Pliocene) : re-evaluation of the African Neogene Mellivorines |journal= Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume= 40 |issue= 4 |pages= e1817754 |doi= 10.1080/02724634.2020.1817754|s2cid= 227249176 }}
File:Mellivora benfieldi mandible.JPG
Mellivora benfieldi is considered a likely ancestor of the living honey badger.{{cite book |last1=Haile-Selassie |first1=Yohannes |title=Ardipithecus Kadabba: Late Miocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia |date=2009 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520254404 |pages=243–244}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Carnivora|M.}}
{{Musteloidea|Mae.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q13564654}}