288 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 



b2 From Louisiana and Texas northwards M. mesomelas. 



bs In New Mexico and Arizona M. estor. 



< M. macroura miller i. 



hi On the Pacific slope M. occidentails. 



M. putida Boitard. Common skunk (Fig. 159). Color black, with 

 a white stripe on the nose and forehead and a white patch on the back 



Fig. 159. — Skull of Mephitis putida (from Elliot). 



of the neck, from which a broad white stripe extends backward a varying 

 distance on each side of the body, often to the tail; tip of tail white; 

 length 575 mm.; tail 229 mm.; hind foot 60 mm.: northeastern States; 

 southward to Virginia; westward to Indiana. 



