MAMMALS 287 



P. V. lutreocephalus (Harlan). Color chestnut brown; length 635 

 mm.; tail 210 mm.; foot 70 mm.: New England coast to the Gulf of 

 Mexico; westward to the Rockies; Transition and Upper Austral zones. 



P. V. vulgivagus Bangs. Size small; color light brown: Gulf coast 

 from Texas to Florida. 



P. V. energumenos Bangs. Size large; color dark: Colorado, west- 

 ward and northwestward to the Pacific coast. 



P. nigripes Audubon & Bachman. Black-footed ferret. Color 

 pale yellowish or buff above and beneath, darker middorsally; feet, tip 

 of tail and face black; length (male) 570 mm.; tail 133 mm.; hind foot 

 60 mm. : Great Plains from western Dakota and Montana to Texas ; west- 

 ward to the base of the Rockies; prairie dogs constitute its principal food. 



Subfamily 2. Mephitinae. — Skunks. Body stocky, heavy behind ; 

 nose slender; ears small; legs short; claws long and non-retractile; tail 

 usually long and bushy; fur mostly long, loose and silky; color black 

 and white: 3 genera and 30 species, all North American; 20 species in 

 the United States. Skunks are nocturnal animals which live on small 

 mammals, birds eggs, insects, etc., and are found both in forests and open 

 country. Their anal glands secrete a malodorous pungent fluid which is 

 discharged from the rectum and can sometimes be thrown 10 or 15 feet. 

 The northerly species hibernate in the winter. The nest is a hole in the 

 ground, a hollow log or a crevice in the rocks, and as many as 10 young 

 are born in a litter. 



Key to the Genera of Mephitinae 



ai Snout not proboscis-like. 



bi Skull with a convex upper outline; large skunks (Fig. 159) . . . i. Mephitis. 



b2 Skull depressed, the upper outline being nearly straight; small 



skunks 2. Spilogale. 



a2 Snout proboscis-like; on the Mexican border 3. Conepaius. 



I. Mephitis Geoff roy & Cuvier. Body stout; claws large and 

 curved; a part of the sole applied to the ground in walking; skull 

 convex; dentition $1^, i/i, ^/^, 1/2: about 9 species, all in the United 



States and Canada, being northerly in distribution. 



» 



Key to the Species of Mephitis 



ai In the eastern and central States. 



bi From New England to Virginia and Indiana.. .M. putida. 



b2 In Canada M. mephitis. 



bs West Virginia to the Gulf M. elongata. 



ao In the States west of the Mississippi. 



bi On the Great Plains from Nebraska northwards. M. hiidsonica. 



