The northern hog badger (''Arctonyx albogularis'') is a species of

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in ...

native to

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered a subspecies of the

greater hog badger The greater hog badger (''Arctonyx collaris'') is a very large terrestrial mustelid native to Southeast Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because the global population is thought to be declining due to h ...

(''A. collaris'') when ''A. collaris'' was considered the only species in ''

Arctonyx Hog badgers are three species of mustelid in the genus ''Arctonyx''. They represent one of the two genera in the subfamily Melinae, alongside the true badgers (genus '' Meles''). Taxonomy ''Arctonyx'' was formerly considered a monotypic genus ...

'', but a 2008 study split the genus into 3 species, including ''A. albogularis''.

Description

The species is much smaller than the

and has a more gracile skull. Elderly animals only have a moderately developed

sagittal crest A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull (at the sagittal suture) of many mammalian and reptilian skulls, among others. The presence of this ridge of bone indicates that there are exceptiona ...

, in contrast to the two other species in the genus. It has a softer pelage with longer hairs than the other ''Arctonyx'', with thick

underfur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...

during the winter months. It has blackish forequarters, with the mid-back, tail, and hindquarters either being white or mixed with white. It is darker than the greater hog badger but lighter than the

Sumatran hog badger The Sumatran hog badger (''Arctonyx hoevenii'') is a species of Mustelidae, mustelid Endemism, endemic to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Taxonomy It was formerly considered a subspecies of the greater hog badger (''A. collaris''), when it ...

. The species displays significant geographical variation, and some forms may represent distinct

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

Distribution

The species is ranges from

northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

northeast to most of eastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. An isolated record is known from eastern

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. The species may potentially exist in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

, but this remains unconfirmed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q19717139 Badgers Mammals of India Mammals of Bangladesh Mammals of China Mammals of Mongolia Mammals described in 1853