Stink badger
Drawing from Brehm's Animal Life
The Stinkdachse ( Mydaus ) are a living in Southeast Asia predator species. Earlier they were seen as representatives of badgers ( Melinae ), genetic studies have shown that they are closer related to the Skunks ( Mephitinae ), an otherwise live only in America predator group. They are named after their ability entgegenzuspritzen from the anal glands an attacker smelly secretions. There are two types:
- The Sunda Stinkdachs ( Mydaus javanensis ) lives on Sumatra, Borneo and Java.
- The Palawan - Stinkdachs ( Mydaus marchei ) is located on the Philippine island of Palawan and neighboring small islands.
Features
Stinkdachse are dark brown to black. When Sunda Stinkdachs a white stripe pulls back from head to tail base, while the Palawan - Stinkdachs has only a single yellow spot on the vertex. The long snout is movable, the legs are short, and the tail is only a stub. These animals can reach a body length 32-51 cm, a tail length of 2-8 centimeters and a weight of 1.4 to 3.6 kilograms.
Way of life
According to reports, the Sunda Stinkdachs is nocturnal, while the Palawan - Stinkdachs can go both during the day and at night in search of food. For the rest they withdraw in self-dug burrows, sometimes they also occupy burrows of porcupines. The food of these animals consists of worms, insects and plant material.
The secretion of the anal glands can be sprayed at a distance of one and a half meters. It is used specifically and, if it meets the eye, causing blindness.
System
The genus includes two extant species of Stinkdachse:
Sunda Stinkdachs ( Mydaus javanensis )
Palawan Stinkdachs ( Mydaus marchei )
Streifenskunks ( Mephitis )
Spot Skunks ( Spilogale )
White trunk Skunks ( Conepatus )
The first scientific description of the genus is derived from Frédéric Cuvier from 1825, of the first-described also by him this year Mydaus chose as type species meliceps. This was synonymized with the Sunda Stinkdachs ( Mydaus javanensis ).
Within the recent genera of skunks are the Stinkdachse be the most original species and all other skunks living today are faced as a primitive group. The time of separation of the Stinkdachse of the American taxa was present about 20.7 million years ago.
Endangering
The meat of the Stinkdachse is sometimes eaten, with the animals, the anal glands are removed. The main threat comes from but by the destruction of their habitat. The Palawan - Stinkdachs is listed by the IUCN as endangered ( vulnerable ).