Mellivora indosinica sp. nov. (Mustelidae, Carnivora): a Honey Badger from the Pleistocene of Vietnam.

A new honey badger, Mellivora indosinica sp. nov., is described on the basis of an isolated lower carnassial tooth from the Middle Pleistocene deposits of the Tham Hai cave in Northeast Vietnam (Lang Son Province). Judging by tooth measurements, the new species is larger than all known Mellivorini, including the medium-sized Recent Mellivora capensis, but much smaller than the Neogene giant Eomellivorini. This is the only representative of Mellivorinae in Southeast Asia and evidence for the presence of honey badgers in the Pleistocene Stegodon-Ailuropoda fauna.