Subfamily Melinae Bonaparte, 1838 . Nuovi Ann Sci. Nat., 2:111.

COMMENTS: Reviewed by Long (1978) and Long and Killingley (1983). Revised by Pocock (1921 b, d, 1941a), Petter (1971), and Wozencraft (1989a), who suggested that this may not be a monophyletic group. Pocock recognized as subfamilies, and Petter as tribes, four groups: (1) Meles, Arctonyx; (2) Melogale; (3) Mydaus; and (4) Taxidea . Pocock (1920b), Long (1981), and Wozencraft (1989b) argued for the separation of Taxidea into a monotypic subfamily, Taxidiinae, which would be consistent with the phylogenetic hypotheses refered to above and which will be followed here. Petter (1971), Radinsky (1973), and Schmidt-Kittler (1981) suggested that Mydaus may be the sister group to Mephitinae . Its placement in this subfamily is provisional.