Steve Jackson's
Badger Pages
Badger facts. Badger photos. The badgers of the world in words and pictures.
Part of Badgers on the Web .
Skip to site navigation
Skip to page navigation
Image: American badger (Taxidea taxus).
Home » American badger (Taxidea taxus) » Articles :
This page give details of the scientific classification of this species, and lists the subspecies that have been described.
On this page: Classification | Subspecies | Related Badger Pages
The American badger has traditionally been classified as follows:
Class : Mammalia (Mammals)
Family : Mustelidae (Weasels etc.)
Sub-family : Melinae (True badgers)
Genus & species : Taxidea taxus (The American badger)
This badger was first described by Schreber in 1777. It was originally classified with the bears, and was given the Latin name Ursus taxus [ w005-02 ].
W. Chris Wozencraft has proposed that Taxidea should in fact be placed in its own sub-family (Taxidiinae), which would separate it from the "true badgers" [ w005-10 ].
The following subspecies are recognised:
[All subspecies data: b001 ].
Find out about the classification and subspecies of:
The American badger photo used at the head of this Article is a public domain image provided by the US Fish & Wildlife Service; photographer Gary Stolz. Credits for the photos used in the right-hand margin of this page for site navigation can be found on the Credits page.
Go to the Eurasian badger home page.
Go to the hog badger home page.
Go to the American badger home page.
Go to the ferret badgers home page.
Go to the honey badger home page.
Go to the stink badgers home page.
Go to the badgers of the world home page.
Buy badgery gifts and help badgers - select this link.
Text and images copyright © Steve Jackson except where otherwise stated.