142 Bangs Skunks of Eastern North America. 



two small points of white projecting backward from the nuchal patch, 

 the rest of the upper parts, except the frontal stripe and nuchal patch, 

 being black. 



Cranial characters. Skull much smaller and lighter than that of M. me 

 phitica typica; palate ending in a median spine, not always large, but 

 even when much reduced giving a very different outline to end of palate 

 from that of mephitica typica. Size of the type skull (an old adult $) : 

 basilar length, 60; occipitonasal length, 63.2; zygomatic breadth, 44 ; 

 mastoid breadth, 35 ; greatest length of single half of mandible, 45.6. An 

 old adult 9 (No. 2886, Bangs collection from Point aux Loups Springs, 

 Acadia Parish, La.): basilar length, 57.4; occipitonasal length. 62.2; 

 zygomatic breadth, 38.8; mastoid breadth, 35; greatest length of single 

 half of mandible, 43. 



tiize. Old adult c? type: total length, 580; tail vertebrae, 208; hind 

 foot, 64. Old adult 9 (No. 2886, Bangs coll., from Point aux Loups 

 Springs, Acadia Parish, La.) : total length, 594 ; tail vertebree, 233 ; hind 

 foot, 67. 



General remarks. Among the intergrades between this form and me 

 phitica typica that occur through the New England and Middle States, 

 but especially northward, examples can be found both with and without 

 the median spine at the end of the palate. No specimen that I have 

 ever seen of Mephitis mephitica typica, however, has shown any approach 

 to such a spine, not even the very young examples, while it is present, 

 in a varying degree, in every skull of scrutator examined. 



MEPHITIS ELONGATA Bangs. 



1895. Mephitis mephitica dongata Bangs, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 

 XXVI. Author' sedition, July 31, 1895, p. 3. 



Type locality. Micco, Brevard Co., Florida. 



Geographic distribution. Peninsular Florida, north along the coast to 

 southern South Carolina ; western limit of range unknown. Rare in the 

 northern part of its range ; locally distributed everywhere. 



General characters. Size large, but of lighter build than M. mephitica ; 

 tail very long, tapering to a pencil ; feet very long and slender ; color and 

 markings very variable. 



Color. Color and markings as in Mephitis mephitica scrutator and subject 

 to the same range of individual variation. One specimen is all black ex 

 cept the tip of the tail and the nuchal patch, even the usual white frontal 

 stripe being entirely wanting. Another has most of the tail and the 

 whole back, except a narrow median line on the rump, white. 



Cranial characters. Skull large, about the size of that of Mephitis me- 

 j>h it leu ttfjtica, always with a large median spine at end of palate. 



Size of an old adult ^ skull (No. 3052, Bangs coll., topotype) : basilar 

 length, 66.4 ; occipitonasal length, 71 ; zygomatic breadth, 49.2; mastoid 

 breadth, 40; greatest length of single half of mandible, 50.8. An old 

 adult 9 kull (No. 2484, Bangs coll., from P.] itches Ferry, Citrus Co., 



