FIELD BOOK OF MAMMALS 



severe weather. The fur of these mammals has become quite 

 popular in recent years and a large traffic is done in Skunk 

 pelts. The dark- colored ones fetch the best prices and the fur 

 of a prime skin is deep, durable, and handsome. 



Genus Conepatus 



Dentition: Incisors, f ; Canines, {; Premolars, |; Molars, ^ =32. 



Hog-nosed Skunk. — Conepatus mesoleucus mearnsi 



and related forms 



Names. — Hog-nosed Skunk; White-backed Skunk. 

 Plate X. 



General Description. — About the same size and build as the 

 species of Mephitis; a large, robust Skunk with conspicuous 

 black and white coloration; a broad unbroken band of white 

 from crown to end of tail ; differs from Mephitis also in having 

 a naked, hog-like muzzle and much smaller, less bushy, tail. 



Color. — Sexes colored alike; no marked seasonal variation 

 but considerable individual variation. 



Upperparts. — From crown to end of tail pure white to white 

 with faint yellowish tinge, extending as a band from head to 

 shoulders and then widening out to cover nearly the entire 

 dorsal region; rest of upperparts brownish black to black. 



Underparts. — Blackish except for tail which is white with a 

 few black hairs. 



Immature much like adults. 



Measurements. — Males larger than females. Total length, 

 males, 27 inches, females, 23 inches; tail vertebras, males, 11.6 

 inches, females, 9 inches; hind foot, males, 3 inches, females, 

 2.8 inches. Weight five to ten pounds. 



Geographical Distribution. — From the states along the 

 border south into Mexico. 



Food. — Many varieties of insect food such as beetles and 

 their larvae, grasshoppers, crickets, grubs, etc.; small rodents; 

 small birds and their eggs; fruit of cactus. 



Enemies. — Usually let alone by most predatory animals 

 but occasionally killed by Great Horned Owls, and perhaps, in 

 times of food scarcity, by Coyotes and Bobcats. 



132 



