[7] Genetic studies of mitochondrial DNA show the separation of two variants on either side of the Volga but their exact taxonomic rank remains undefined.

A further study of cheek teeth from individuals across the entire range supports this division and provides confirmation that M. meles and M. anakuma are indeed separate species.

A female becomes sexually mature at two years of age and gives birth to a litter of two or three (occasionally four) cubs in March or April.

[14] A further species is Meles thorali from the late Pleistocene, known only from fossil remains, specimens of which have been found at Saint-Vallier, Drôme, in southeastern France and Binagady, in Azerbaijan.

Another extinct species from Europe is Meles hollitzeri from the Early Pleistocene, remains of which were found in Deutsch-Altenburg, in northeastern Austria, and Untermassfeld, in southeastern Germany.