Mellivora fossil map
Where fossils of Mellivora have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04 million years ago to the present (Aquitanian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Mustelidae |
| Named by | Storr 1780 |
| Fossil records | 92 occurrences at 38 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania, Sudan, Zambia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Italy |
| Rock formations | txn:41086, Varswater, Vogel River Series, Swartkrans, Nubia, Adu-Asa |
About Mellivora
Mellivora is a genus of mustelids which contains the honey badger, or ratel (Mellivora capensis), the sole living representative of the subfamily Mellivorinae. Additionally, two extinct species are known. The honey badger is native to much of Africa and South Asia, while fossil relatives occurred in those areas and Southern Europe.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mellivora (revision 1353064117), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q13564654.
