Galericinae

Galericinae is a taxonomic name that has appeared in zoological classification to denote a subfamily, though its precise circumscription and rank have varied among authorities. The term is typically treated as a subfamily level grouping within a larger family, but in many modern classifications it is not consistently recognized as a valid grouping and may be treated as a synonym of another subfamily or as a collection of taxa distributed into different subfamilies. Because of this lack of universal consensus, the membership of Galericinae—i.e., which genera or species would be included, if any—differs between sources.

The delimitation of Galericinae depends on the author’s circumscription. When used, the subfamily is defined by a combination of morphological, genetic, or ecological traits that purportedly unite its members, but no single character set is agreed upon across all treatments. Consequently, the geographic distribution and ecological scope ascribed to Galericinae vary with the included taxa and the taxonomic framework in use.

Historically, Galericinae has appeared in various regional or historical classifications and is less common in contemporary, widely adopted checklists. In modern databases and taxonomic catalogs, the status of Galericinae can range from recognized to deprecated, reflecting broader disagreements about subfamily boundaries within the respective higher taxon. See also Taxonomy, Subfamily, Nomenclature.