On the presence of first premolars in skulls of badgers, Meles meles (Linnaeus, 1758), mainly from the Netherlands

The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) shows much variation in presence of first premolars. In this study a collection of badger skulls, mainly from the Netherlands, was examined for the presence of first premolar elements. The distribution pattern of first premolars, in skulls from the Netherlands, was compaired with data, presented in literature. Our results indicate that there are differences in distribution between different populations and that there might be differences between males and females in presence of first premolars. From a subset of 50 skulls, several measures were taken to see which factors are highly related with presence of first premolars. The amount of direct space for the first premolar to develop (distance between the canine and the second premolar) seems to be highly related with presence or non-presence of first premolars.