VOL. XII, pp. 31-33 MARCH 24, 1898 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SKUNKS OF THE 

 GENUS MEPHITIS. 



BY OUTRAM BANGS. 



Mephitis spissigrada sp. nov. 



Type from Sumas, B. C. No. 3699, $ adult, coll. of E. A. and 0. 

 Bangs. Collected September 30, 1895, by Allan C. Brooks. 



General characters. Externally, with much the general appearance of 

 M. hudsonica and M. occidentalis, large size and long tail, peculiar to all 

 the skunks of this group. Heel densely hairy ; skull differing from that 

 of either M. hudsonica or M. occidentalis in having a very short palate, the 

 end falling at or forward of a line across posterior alveoli of last upper 

 molars ; palate ending in an even curve (like that of M. hudsonica and 

 M. mephitica mephitica) without reentrant notch (as in M. occidentalis) or 

 median spine (as in M. mephitica scrutator and M. elongata). 



Color. As usual in the hudsonica group. Black all over, with white 

 frontal stripe, nuchal patch, and lateral stripes extending from nuchal 

 patch to and down sides of tail ; the long white hairs of sides of tail over 

 lie the shorter hairs and fall to the end of the blunt brush-like terminus 

 of the tail. 



Measurements. 



Total length. Tail vert. Hind foot. 



No. 3699, type, 9 adult 640 240 75 



No. 3700, topotype, $> adult 610 230 75 



No. 5548, topotype, j 1 old adult ... 270 85 



Skull. Type, 9 a( i- Basal length 68 ; occipi to nasal length 69.6; zygo- 

 matic breadth 49. 6; mastoid breadth 41 ; greatest length of single half of 

 mandible 50. 



Cranial characters. Skull similar to that of M. hudsonica and M.. occi 

 dentals, but differing from both these in being shorter and broader and 

 having shorter rostral region and shorter palate, the end of palate falling 

 at or anterior to a line drawn across posterior alveoli of last upper molars 



7 BIOL. Soc. WASH., VOL. XIg68l '] (31) 



