Mellivora

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.

Mellivora Temporal range: Late Miocene - Recent
Honey badger (Mellivora capensis)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Subfamily:	Mellivorinae Gray, 1865[1]
Genus:	Mellivora Storr, 1780
Type species
Viverra ratel[2] Sparrman, 1777
Species
Mellivora capensis †Mellivora benfieldi †Mellivora sivalensis

Taxonomy

The genus Mellivora probably evolved from the more primitive †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 †Eomellivora and †Ekorus.^[3]

Mandible of M. benfieldi

Mellivora benfieldi is considered a likely ancestor of the living honey badger.^[4]

References

1. Gray, J. E. (1865). "Revision of the genera and species of Mustelidae contained in the British Museum". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 100–154.
2. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
3. Valenciano, A.; Govender, R. (July 2020). "New fossils of Mellivora benfieldi (Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae) from Langebaanweg, 'E' Quarry (South Africa, Early Pliocene) : re-evaluation of the African Neogene Mellivorines". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (4): e1817754. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1817754. S2CID 227249176.
4. Haile-Selassie, Yohannes (2009). Ardipithecus Kadabba: Late Miocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. University of California Press. pp. 243–244. ISBN 9780520254404.