Accepted taxon: Meles meles
| Taxon: | Meles meles |
|---|---|
| Rank: | Species |
| Higher Classification: | CARNIVORA | CANIFORMIA | Mustelidae | Mustelinae | Meles |
| Reference: | Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), JHU Press, 2005. |
Fig.1 - Ternary plot of the proximate analysis for the Meles meles diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 4, ASH (Ash contents) 10, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 22, CP (Crude Protein) 52, EE (Ether Extract) 13.
See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets.
Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15.
[DOI]
| TSN Complete name | Part | Ratio a. | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oligochaeta | WHOLE | 40.00 | Grzimek,B… |
| Insecta | WHOLE | 7.80 | Grzimek,B… |
| Gastropoda | WHOLE | 5.93 | Grzimek,B… |
| Magnoliopsida | FRUIT | 5.36 | Grzimek,B… |
| Magnoliopsida | SEED | 4.84 | Grzimek,B… |
| Rodentia | WHOLE | 4.44 | Grzimek,B… |
| Mammalia | WHOLE | 3.70 | Nowak,R. … |
| Erinaceidae | WHOLE | 3.70 | Grzimek,B… |
| Aves | WHOLE | 3.49 | Nowak,R. … |
| Reptilia | WHOLE | 3.27 | Nowak,R. … |
| Anura | WHOLE | 3.05 | Nowak,R. … |
| Mollusca | WHOLE | 2.83 | Nowak,R. … |
| Apoidea | LARVAE | 2.40 | Nowak,R. … |
| Vespidae | LARVAE | 2.18 | Nowak,R. … |
| Vertebrata | CARRION | 1.96 | Nowak,R. … |
| Magnoliopsida | ROOT | 1.83 | Grzimek,B… |
| Fungi | SHOOT | 1.70 | Grzimek,B… |
| Fagaceae | SEED | 1.53 | Nowak,R. … |
a. Standardized values. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]
| Trait | Selected Value | All Value(s) | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotion: Eisenberg 1981 | Terrestrial | Terrestrial | – John L. Gittleman, 1985, 'Carnivore body size: Ecological and taxonomic correlates', Oecologia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 540-554 |
| Dietary category: Eisenberg 1981 | Insectivore | Carnivore, Frugivore-omnivore, Insectivore | – Brian K. McNab, 1986, 'The Influence of Food Habits on the Energetics of Eutherian Mammals', Ecological Monographs, vol. 56, no. 1, p. 1, John L. Gittleman, 1985, 'Carnivore body size: Ecological and taxonomic correlates', Oecologia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 540-554, Juhn, M., Balisi, M., Doughty, E., Friscia, A., Howenstine, A., Jacquemetton, C., Marcot, J., Nugen, S., Van Valkenburgh, B. 2024. Cenozoic climate change and the evolution of North American mammalian predator ecomorphology. Paleobiology. None(None), pp.1-10. Available at: 10.1017/pab.2024.27. |
| Dietary category: Miljutin 2009 | Animalivore | Animalivore, Frugivore | – A. R. Friscia, B. Van Valkenburgh, A. R. Biknevicius, 2007, 'An ecomorphological analysis of extant small carnivorans', Journal of Zoology, vol. 272, no. 1, pp. 82-100, Brian K. McNab, 1986, 'The Influence of Food Habits on the Energetics of Eutherian Mammals', Ecological Monographs, vol. 56, no. 1, p. 1, John L. Gittleman, 1985, 'Carnivore body size: Ecological and taxonomic correlates', Oecologia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 540-554, Juhn, M., Balisi, M., Doughty, E., Friscia, A., Howenstine, A., Jacquemetton, C., Marcot, J., Nugen, S., Van Valkenburgh, B. 2024. Cenozoic climate change and the evolution of North American mammalian predator ecomorphology. Paleobiology. None(None), pp.1-10. Available at: 10.1017/pab.2024.27. |
| Temporal habits | nocturnal and crepuscular | nocturnal and crepuscular | – John L. Gittleman, 1985, 'Carnivore body size: Ecological and taxonomic correlates', Oecologia, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 540-554 |
| Measurement | Location | Unit | n Total | n Unknown | n Female | n Male | Min | Mean | Max | SD | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body Mass (BM) | nan | g | - | - | - | - | 5,000 | - | 34,000 | - | Freudenth… |
| Body Mass (BM) | nan | g | - | - | - | - | - | 11,884 | - | - | Juhn, M.,… |
| Body Mass (BM) | nan | g | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 12,000 | - | - | Engelman,… |
| Head-Body Length (HBL) | nan | mm | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 668.5 | - | - | Engelman,… |
| Occipital condyle width (OCW) | nan | mm | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 32.26 | - | - | Engelman,… |
| Measurement | Location | Unit | n Total | n Unknown | n Female | n Male | Min | Mean | Max | SD | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPD (l) | n/a | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 55 | - | - | Evans, Al… | |
| OPD (u) | n/a | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 59 | - | - | Evans, Al… | |
| brainmass | nan | g | - | - | - | - | - | 46 | - | - | Engelman,… |
| skull_length | nan | mm | - | - | - | - | - | 130 | - | - | Engelman,… |
| BMR (kJ/h) | nan | kJ/h | - | - | - | - | - | 60 | - | - | McNab, B.… |
| femur circumference | nan | mm | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | - | - | Nelson, A… |
| femur diameter | nan | mm | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | Nelson, A… |
| humerus circumference | nan | mm | - | - | - | - | - | 34 | - | - | Nelson, A… |
| humerus diameter | nan | mm | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | Nelson, A… |
| neck length | nan | mm | - | - | - | - | - | 98 | - | - | Nelson, A… |
| relative blade length (RBL) | nan | unitless | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | Juhn, M.S… |
b. other Measurements. Source Measurements which are not listed on or mapped with the Standard Traits..
Citation for this page: [The MammalBase community 2026. / CC BY 4.0. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7462864 Meles meles , Accessed 16th April 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/14934]