CRANIOMETRIC VARIATION IN THE EURASIAN BADGER, MELES-MELES

A multivariate examination of cranial variation within and between Eur opean populations of Meles meles (L.) revealed that populations from I reland, Great Britain, Norway, and the Slovak Republic could be differ entiated both by cranial form and by the degree of sexual dimorphism e xhibited. Irish material was characterized by low sexual dimorphism, p articularly when compared to Slovak specimens. Badgers from the Britis h Isles had larger skulls than other samples and were more similar to each other than they were to badgers from mainland Europe. Size played a greater role in differentiating samples of female badgers than it d id in males. Significant variation occurred within the British Isles, with individual samples being highly differentiable. There was, howeve r, little relationship between morphological similarity and geographic proximity. We contend that macrogeographical (between-country) variat ion in the species is primarily determined by historical factors and a daptation to current conditions, while microgeographic (within-country ) variation is a result of selectively neutral processes.