142 Bangs — Sbmh of Eastern Xorth America. 



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

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

 being black. 



Crankd characters. — Skull nnich smaller and lighter than that of M. me- 

 phitica tijpicu ; jialate 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. 



Size. — Old adult (j^ type : total length, 580; tail vertebrae, 208; hind 

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

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

 foot, 67. 



General rein^irL-<. — Among the intei-grades between this form and vie- 

 phitica ti/pica that occur through the New England and INIiddle 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 tlie very young examples, while it is present, 

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



MEPHrns ELONGATA Bangs. 



1895. Mephitis mephitica elonqatd Hangs. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. , Vol. 

 XXVI. Author's edition, July 31, 1895, p. 3. 



Type local'dij. — Micco, Brevard Co., Florida. 



Geographic distrihalion. — Peninsular Florida, nortii 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 3L mephitica ; 

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

 markings very variable. 



Color. — Color and markings as in }[ephitis mephitica scrutator and subject 

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

 cept tiie 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, alxjut the size of that of ^fephitis me- 

 phitica typica, always with a large median spine at end of palate. 



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

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

 bi'eadth, 40; greatest length of single half of mandible, 50.8. An old 

 adult 9 skull (No. 2484, Bangs coll., from Blitches Ferry, Citrus Co., 



