Meles leucurus (Hodgson, 1847) —Asian Badger

Taxidia leucurus Hodgson, 1847b p.763; Type locality- Tibet.

Meles melanogenys Allen and Andrews, 1913 p.433; Type locality- Musan, Korea; Kishida & Mori, 1931 p.380; Kuroda, 1938 p.25.

M. meles melanogenys: Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 p.273; Won, 1958 p.437; Won, 1967 p.103; Yoon, 1992 p.109.

M. meles: Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 p.271; Won, 1968 p.299; Corbet, 1978 p.175; Han, 1994 p.46; Won & Smith, 1999 p.18; Oh, 2004a p.180.

M. meles amurensis: Tate, 1947 p.154; Won, 1968 p.299.

M. leucurus: Jo et al., 2012 p.252 .

Range: The Asian badger inhabits the Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island (Fig. 46).

Remarks: Because the species was treated as M. meles for a long time, the name M. meles became frequently used in Korea. Based on DNA analysis (Tashima et al. 2011), the species complex of the Eurasian badger was divided into four lineages, Japanese ( M. anakuma); western Eurasian ( M. meles meles European subspecies); Caucasian ( M. meles canascens Transcaucasian subspecies); and eastern Eurasian ( M. leucurus). Abramov and Puzachenko (2006) delineated two subspecies, M. l. leucurus and M. l. amurensis, based on morphometric analysis; the Korean badger was regarded as M. l. amurensis . However, Koh et al. (2014b) rejected the species status of M. anakuma and considered M. leucurus a monotypic species.

Conservation status: Since traditional medicine began using gall bladders of this badger as a substitute for bear gall bladders, M. leucurus populations have decreased. Seoul, Ulsan, and Jeollanam Province designated this species as provincially protected since 2002. Meles leucurus in South Korea is listed ‘Near Threatened’ (NIBR 2012).