The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Small Carnivores

Earlier today I was re-reading this thread along with a few other older threads relating to small carnivores, and I started pondering on the fact that rather a lot of unusual species have been seen by Zoochat members - especially the usual suspects such as @Giant Eland and @devilfish

As such, I thought I would create a companion thread for my recent discussion of feline taxonomy - this will serve a number of purposes, including (hopefully) encouraging people who can fill in gaps to upload old photographs to the gallery and highlighting photographs located within the gallery worthy of discussion. One difference to the previous thread will be the fact that (for the sake of sanity and simplicity) this one will be approached at species level only

 

MUSTELIDAE


This family comprises six major lineages, along with a pair of monotypic basal lineages; these are as follows:

TAXIDIINAE - American Badger (1 species)

MELLIVORINAE - Honey Badger (1 species)

MELINAE - True Badgers (7 species within two genera)

MARTINAE - Martens (11 species within four genera)

HELICTIDINAE - Ferret-badgers (5 species within one genus)

GALICTINAE - Grisons and allies (7 species within five genera)

MUSTELINAE - True Weasels (18 species within two genera)

LUTRINAE - Otters (13 species within 7 genera)


(Each lineage name has been hyperlinked to the post within which it is discussed)

 

TAXIDIINAE


This, the most basal extant mustelid lineage, comprises a single genus:

Taxidea - American Badger (monotypic)
.

 

Taxidea


American Badger (T. taxus)

The range of this species extends from south-central Canada, south through central and western USA to the north of Mexico.

Four subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

T. t. taxus - photo by @Elephant Enthusiast



T. t. berlandieri - Photo by @Blackduiker



T. t. jacksoni - photo by @Wild wolverine



T. t. jeffersonii - photo by @Julio C Castro

 

MELLIVORINAE


This basal mustelid lineage comprises a single genus:

Mellivora - Honey Badger (monotypic)
.

 

Mellivora


Honey Badger (M. capensis)

The range of this species extends throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa from South Africa to the south of Morocco, along with the Arabian Peninsula, Middle-East, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Ten subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. c. capensis - photo by @ro6ca66



M. c. buechneri
M. c. concisa
M. c. cottoni - photo by @ro6ca66



M. c. inaurita
M. c. indica
M. c. maxwelli
M. c. pumilio - photo by @Giant Eland



M. c. signata
M. c. wilsoni - photo by @bongowwf

 

MELINAE


This lineage comprises two extant genera, as follows:

Arctonyx - Hog Badgers (3 species)

Meles - True Badgers (4 species)

.

 

Arctonyx


Greater Hog Badger (A. collaris)

The range of this species extends from Bangladesh and northeast India, east through Myanmar into Indochina; the border between this species and the Northern Hog Badger may overlap in northeast India and Bangladesh.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Chlidonias




Northern Hog Badger (A. albogularis)

The range of this species extends from northeast India, Bangladesh and Bhutan, northeast across southern and eastern China, with an isolated population in southeast Mongolia.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Ding Lingwei




Sumatran Hog Badger (A. hoevenii)

The range of this species extends throughout the montane regions of Sumatra.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Giant Eland

 

Meles


European Badger (M. meles)

The range of this species extends throughout Europe, as far east as the Volga River and as far south as the Caucasus Mountains.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Caucasian Badger (M. canescens)

The range of this species extends from Asia Minor and the Caucasus, throughout the Middle East as far east as northern Afghanistan.

Monotypic.

Photo by @alexkant




Asian Badger (M. leucurus)

The range of this species extends throughout northern Asia, from the Volga to the Russian Far East, and central Asia from the Caspian Sea to Mongolia, China and Korea.

Two subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. l. leucurus - photo by @Ding Lingwei



M. l. amurensis - photo by @YuanChang




Japanese Badger (M. anakuma)

The range of this species extends through the majority of Japan, excluding Hokkaido.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Giant Eland

 

MARTINAE


This lineage comprises four extant genera, as follows:

Pekania - Fisher (monotypic)

Eira - Tayra (monotypic)

Gulo - Wolverine (monotypic)

Martes - Martens (8 species)
.

 

Pekania


Fisher (P. pennanti)

The range of this species extends throughout the northern portions of North America from the Pacific shore of British Columbia and Alaska, east to Nova Scotia; the western portion of the range extends along the Cascades as far south as Oregon.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

P. p. pennanti - photo by @pachyderm pro



P. p. columbiana
P. p. pacifica - photo by @ThylacineAlive

 

Eira


Tayra (E. barbara)

The range of this highly polymorphic species extends from northern Argentina, throughout much of South America north to Central America and southern Mexico.

Seven subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

E. b. barbara - photo by @Giant Eland



E. b. inserta
E. b. madeirensis - photo by @robreintjes



E. b. peruana - photo by @devilfish



E. b. poliocephala - photo by @hmb_zoo



E. b. senex - photo by @carlos55



E. b. sinuensis - photo by @Big Rob

 

Gulo


Wolverine (G. gulo)

The range of this species extends across much of the subarctic and alpine tundra and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest concentrations in northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia and Fennoscandia. In the Old World the species extends south to the Baltic States, northeast China and Mongolia, and in the New World scattered populations extend south into the United States within the Rocky Mountains and Cascades.

Two subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

G. g. gulo - photo by @Tomek



G. g. luscus - photo by @geomorph

 

Martes


Yellow-throated Marten (M. flavigula)

The range of this species extends throughout southern and eastern Asia from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west, east through the Himalayas of India, Nepal and Bhutan into southern China, the Korean peninsula and Indochina.

Six subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. f. flavigula - photo by @YuanChang



M. f. borealis - photo by @ro6ca66



M. f. chrysospila
M. f. indochinensis - photo by @Chlidonias



M. f. peninsularis
M. f. robinsoni - photo by @Giant Eland




Nilgiri Marten (M. gwatkinsii)

The range of this species covers scattered populations in southern India throughout the Nilgiri Mountains in the Western Ghats.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Beech Marten (M. foina)

The range of this species extends from the Iberian Peninsula in the west, through central and southern Europe and into the Middle East and Central Asia, as far east as the Altai mountains and northwest China.

Currently classified as monotypic, although further taxonomic assessment is required.

Photo by @alexkant



Sable (M. zibellina)

The range of this species extends throughout Asian Russia, from the Ural Mountains to the Russian Far East, along with small portions of northern China, Mongolia and North Korea. Historical populations in European Russia, Fennoscandia and eastern Europe have been extirpated.

Currently classified as monotypic, although further taxonomic assessment is required.

Photo by @Giant Eland




Pine Marten (M. martes)

The range of this species covers most of Europe, and extends east into Asia Minor, northern Iran, the Caucasus, and the westernmost portion of Asian Russia as far east as Novosibirsk.

Currently classified as monotypic, although further taxonomic assessment is required.

Photo by @littleRedPanda




Japanese Marten (M. melampus)

The range of this species extends throughout Japan.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. m. melampus - photo by @aardvark250



M. m. coreensis
M. m. tsuensis


American Marten (M. americana)

The range of this species extends throughout Alaska and northern Canada to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and from here south into northeastern USA.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Giant Eland




Pacific Marten (Martes caurina)

The range of this species extends throughout western North America, from southern Alaska into British Columbia and Alberta, and from here throughout the Pacific Northwest ,Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada within the contiguous United States.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.
.

 

(It is worth noting that I know that @devilfish has seen and photographed Japanese Marten )

- Edit -

A photo of this species has now been uploaded by aforementioned user.

 

HELICTIDINAE


This lineage comprises a single genus:

Melogale - Ferret-badgers (6 species)

.

 

Melogale


Cuc Phuong Ferret-badger (M. cucphuongensis)

The range of this species is unclear and potentially highly-fragmented, with the type specimens originating from Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Vietnam and subsequent specimens recorded patchily throughout central and southern Vietnam, and also a highly-disjunct specimen recorded in Fuijan, southeast China.

Two subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. c. cucphuongensis
M. c. guadunensis

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Burmese Ferret-badger M. personata

The range of this species extends from northeast India and southern Nepal, into southern Myanmar and throughout Indochina.

Three subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. p. personata
M. p. nipalensis
M. p. pierrei - photo by @Giant Eland




Chinese Ferret-badger (M. moschata)

The range of this species extends from northeast India, through Myanmar into central and south-east China, extending south into northern Indochina.

Five subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. m. moschata - photo by @Michal Sloviak



M. m. ferrogrisea - photo by @Himimomi



M. m. millsi - photo by @Chlidonias



M. m. sorella
M. m. taxilla


Formosan Ferret-badger (M. subaurantica)

Endemic to Taiwan.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Giant Eland




Bornean Ferret-badger (M. everetti)

The range of this species is unclear, with the only definitive population known from the highland forests surrounding Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Borneo.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Javan Ferret-badger (M. orientalis)

The range of this species extends throughout Java and Bali.

Two subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

M. o. orientalis
M. o. sundaicus

Photo by @HOMIN96

 

GALICTINAE


This lineage comprises seven extant genera, as follows:

Galictis - Grisons (2 species)

Lyncodon - Patagonian Weasel (monotypic)

Vormela - Marbled Polecat (monotypic)

Ictonyx - Striped Polecats (2 species)

Poecilogale - African Striped Weasel (monotypic)
.

 

Galictis


Lesser Grison (G. cuja)

The range of this species extends from central Brazil and Bolivia in the north, to southern Argentina and Chile in the south.

Four subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

G. c. cuja - photo by @carlos55



G. c. furax - photo by @Therabu



G. c. huronax
G. c. luteola - photo by @devilfish




Greater Grison (G. vittata)

The range of this species extends throughout Central and South America, from southern Mexico in the north, to central Brazil, Peru and Bolivia in the south.

Four subspecies are currently recognised, as follows:

G. v. vittata
G. v. andina - photo by @ro6ca66



G. v. brasiliensis
G. v. canaster - photo by @Giant Eland