Notes on zoogeography and taxonomy of the badgers (Carnivora: Mustelidae: Meles) and some of their fleas (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae: Paraceras)

Abstract

A comparative morphological analysis of the fleas from the melis-flabellum species group of the genus Paraceras (Siphonaptera, Ceratophyllidae) is undertaken. Differences in the structure of the clasper and the 8th tergite allow considering P. melis and P. flabellum separate species. Morphological characters of the Japanese form of Paraceras make possible to treat it as an independent taxon. The distribution ranges of three badger species of the genus Meles (Carnivora, Mustelidae) are shown to correspond to those of their specific parasites, i.e. the fleas of the melis-flabellum species group of the genus Paraceras. Paraceras melis is restricted to the range of the European badger, Meles meles (Europe, the Caucasus, northern Iran and southern Kirgizia), while Paraceras flabellum is limited by the range of the Asian badger, Meles leucurus (Kazakhstan, Middle Asia, Siberia, China).

Morphological Characteristics of Adult Male Weasel "Mustela Subpalmata, Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1833" From Different Regions in Egypt

“…The common weasel, M. nivalis, Linnaeus, 1766 was first described in Sweden. There is no general approval of the common weasel taxonomy, due to the question of the number of weasel subspecies and species in Africa, Europe, and Asia [10] . The larger-sized weasel (previously called M. nivalis subpalmata) presents in Egypt and attains maximum sizes more than M. nivalis.…”

“…Van Zyll de Jong [2] previously observed this difference in the Egyptian weasel size. After using the UPGMA dendrogram, Abramov and Baryshnikov [10] reported that the small-size weasels are presented in one cluster, the average-size weasels in another cluster, and all large sizes comprise the third cluster. The Egyptian weasel is separated from its other members and also placed in the third cluster.…”

“…Van Zyll de Jong [2] used skull morphometric analysis of M. nivalis then he deduced that the large Egyptian weasel is a separate species as M. subpalmata, Hemprich and Ehrenberg 1833. Reig [9] followed the opinion of van Zyll de Jong [2] and considered the Egyptian weasel as a separate species.Abramov and Baryshnikov [10] assume the following logic scheme of the origin and modification of different forms of M. nivalis. Large long-tailed weasels of North-Western Africa, southern Spain, islands of the Mediterranean, and Greece, with a coloration of nivalis-type, are probably most close to the original state for the species M. nivalis.…”

“…Abramov and Baryshnikov [10] assume the following logic scheme of the origin and modification of different forms of M. nivalis. Large long-tailed weasels of North-Western Africa, southern Spain, islands of the Mediterranean, and Greece, with a coloration of nivalis-type, are probably most close to the original state for the species M. nivalis.…”

Extrinsically reinforced hybrid speciation within Holarctic ermine (Mustelaspp.) produces an insular endemic

“…Although the number of ermine subspecies remains contentious, we chose to assess the most diverse estimates (Hall, 1951), hypothesizing that a subset therein (as proposed by Corbet, 1978or King, 1983) would be identified as distinct. Ermine are strongly sexually dimorphic (Hall, 1951;King, 1983); therefore, following Abramov and Baryshnikov (2000) we restricted morphological sampling to males only, as species diagnosis within mustelids remains consistent even when sex is unknown (Bornholdt et al, 2013). Crania were loaned from the University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), the University of Alaska Museum of the North (UAM), the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) at the University of California Berkley and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (USNM).…”