Asian black bear
Biologically and morphologically, Asiatic black bears represent the beginning of the arboreal specializations attained by sloth bears and sun bears. Asiatic black bears have karyotypes nearly identical to those of the five other ursine bears, and, as is typical in the genus, they have 74 chromosomes. From an evolutionary perspective, Asiatic black bears are the least changed of Old World bears, with certain scientists arguing that it is likely that all other lineages of ursine bear stem from this species. Scientists have proposed that Asiatic black bears are either a surviving, albeit modified, form of "Ursus etruscus", specifically the early, small variety of the Middle Villafranchian (Upper Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene) or a larger form of "Ursus minimus", an extinct species that arose 4,000,000 years ago. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is often difficult to distinguish the remains of "Ursus minimus" with those of modern Asiatic black bears.
Asian badger
Asian badgers are mostly lighter in colour than European badgers, though some forms may closely approach the former species in colour, if not darker, with smudges of ocherous and brownish highlights. The flanks are lighter than the middle of the back, and the facial stripes are usually brown rather than black. Unlike the facial stripes of European badgers, those of Asian badgers narrow behind their eyes and extend above the ears. The white parts of the head are usually dirtier in colour than those of European badgers. The light stripe passing along the top of the head between the two stripes is relatively short and narrow. They are generally smaller than their European cousins, and have relatively longer upper molars. They indeed appear to be the smallest of the three "Meles" badgers despite regional size variations, with the largest-bodied populations of the species found in Siberia where some populations are about the same size as the European badger. Body mass will typically range from and length from . The average weight of three adult males from Sobaeksan National Park, South Korea was .