332 TAXIDEA. MEPHITIS. 



white, giving this part a grizzled appearance. Cheeks white with a 

 black patch in front of ear. Under parts buff, except throat and chin, 

 which are white. Legs black, tail like the back. 



Measurements. Total length, 710; tail vertebrae, 120; hindleg, 103. 



77. Mephitis. 



I. 3=;5; c. ■=?; P. ^; M. ^^ = 34. 

 3-3' i-i' 3-3' 2-2 ■'^ 



Mephitis. Cuv. Le^. Anatom. Comp., 1800, p. i. 



Upper posterior molar larger than the carnassial, subquadrate; 



palate reaching to hinder border of last molar; body elongate; limbs 



moderate subplantigrade; head small; nose pointed; tail long, bushy; 



anal glands greatly developed. 



479. mephitica. {Viverra), Shaw, Mus. Lever., 1792, p. 171. 



chinga. Tied. Zool., 1808, i, p. 362. 



macruia, Aud. & Bach, (nee Licht), Quad. N. Am., iii, pi. 102. 



varians, Gray (nee Baird), Mag. Nat. Hist., 1837, p. 581. 



Type locality. Unknown. 



Geogr. Distr. Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, south and west to 

 Virginia and Indiana. 



Genl. Char. Size large, tail penicillated; heel hairy. 



Color. Black; narrow frontal line, triangular nuchal patch, a 

 line on both sides of back nearly to tail, and end of tail white. Mark- 

 ings vary considerably among individuals. 



Measurements. Total length, 682; tail vertebrae, 171; hind foot, 

 83. Skull: basilar length, 71.6; occipito-nasal length, 74.6; zygomatic 

 breadth, 52; mastoid breadth, 43.8; mandible, 52.8. 



a. — hudsonia. {Mephitis), Rich. Faun. Bor. Am. Mamm., 1829, p. 55. 



Type locality. Hudson Bay? 



Geogr. Distr. North of Canada, Hudson Bay westward to plains 

 of the Saskatchewan? 



Genl. Char. Similar in color and markings to M. mephitica, but 

 larger, palate without median spine. End of tail blunt, bushy. 



Color. A narrow white mesial line runs from the tip of the nose 

 to the occiput, where it dilates into a broad white mark. It is again 

 narrowed, and continues so until it passes the shoulders, when it 

 forks, the branches running along the sides, and becoming much 

 broader as they recede from each other. They approach posteriorly 

 and unite on the rump, becoming at the same time narrower. In 

 some few specimens the white stripes do not unite behind, but dis- 

 appear on the fianks. The black dorsal space included by the stripes 

 is egg-shaped, the narrow end of which is towards the shoulders. 



