Sexual dimorphism of craniological characters in the European badger, Meles meles, (Carnivora, Mustelidae) from the Western Carpathians

Abstract. In the Carpathian population of the European badger, existing studies show a considerable discrepancy in the level of sexual dimorphism. The main goal of the study was to assess the sexual size dimorphism of the Carpathian Meles meles population in the light of the main hypotheses explaining this phenomenon. We measured 22 craniometric characteristics on sexed skulls of adult specimens from the Western Carpathians and assessed the morphological differences between males and females. A multi-model approach combined with predictive modelling was used to identify craniological parameters that discriminate badger sexes. The sexual size dimorphism was manifested mainly in differences of the feeding apparatus. The inner (IMW) and outer width of mandible (OMW) showed the highest power to discriminate between males and females (classification accuracy > 80 %). The IMW and OMW of 30 and 69 mm, respectively, may be used as rough threshold values for determination of the badger sex in the Western Carpathians. Our results seem to be in accordance with the hypothesis of sexual selection. We suppose that more even distribution of small families or individuals in the mainland Europe implicates higher level of mating competition which leads to favouring bigger and stronger males. We suppose also some role of a predatory selection by large carnivores and competition with other burrowing species leading to a potentially higher survival chance of bigger individuals in the Carpathians.