About Meles canescens Blanford, 1875
This species is smaller than the European badger, with a dirty-greyish back marked with brown highlights. Its head matches the shape and pattern of the European badger's head, but has weaker crests. Its upper molars are elongated in the same way that the Asian badger's upper molars are. When compared to the Asian badger and Japanese badger, this species can be told apart by its fur and facial mask; the facial mask is similar to that of the European badger. The Caucasian badger's range extends from Anatolia north to the Caucasus Mountains, south to the Levant and west-central Iran, and east through the Tian Shan mountains. It also lives on the Mediterranean islands of Crete and Rhodes, and has been recorded in Afghanistan. The boundary between this species' range and the European badger's range is thought to lie in the North Caucasus, but no clear boundary has been defined. The two species are known to live sympatrically in some areas, and potential hybrids between them have been identified.
