MAMMALS 289 



M. mephitis (Schreber). Color arrangement like M. piUida, but 

 the white stripes are narrow and extend down the sides of the tail, which 

 is mixed black and white; length 613 mm.; tail 188 mm.; hind foot 78 

 mm.: Nova Scotia and northern Ontario to Lake Winnipeg. 



M. hudsonica Richardson. Color similar to M. mephitis, but the tip 

 of the tail is black; length 726 mm.; tail 286 mm.; hind foot 82 mm.: 

 Manitoba to eastern British Columbia; southward into Colorado, 

 Nebraska and Minnesota. 



M. elongata Bangs. Color similar to M. putida, but the white 

 stripes are very broad, sometimes entirely covering the back and tail; 

 some specimens almost wholly black; length 703 mm.; tail 317 mm; 

 hind foot 74 mm.: North Carolina to the Gulf; westward along the 

 Gulf coast to the Mississippi. 



M. mesomelas Lichtenstein. Dorsal white stripes narrow and short, 

 usually extending to the middle of the back, but sometimes to the tail 

 which usually lacks the white tip; length 576 mm.; tail 223 mm.; hind 

 foot 63 mm.: Mississippi Valley from western Indiana into Iowa; 

 southwestward of the river to the Gulf coast of Louisiana and 

 Texas. 



Subspecies of M. mesomelas 



M. m. mesomelas Lich. From southern Louisiana to Missouri; 

 westward to Matagorda Island, Texas. 



M. m. varians Gray. Long-tailed skunk. Length 758 mm.; tail 

 393 mm.; hind foot 71 mm.: southwestern Texas and eastern New 

 Mexico to Nebraska and Colorado. 



M. m. avia Bangs. Tail very short; length 641 mm.; tail 184 mm.; 

 hind foot 65 mm. : prairies from Indiana to Iowa. 



M. ester Merriam. Dorsal stripes very broad, occasionally entirely 

 covering the back and tail; length 639 mm.; tail 285 mm.; foot 69 

 mm,: Arizona and western New Mexico. 



M. occidentalis Baird. White stripes varying much in extent, fre- 

 quently extending on to the tail; length 693 mm.; tail 303 mm.; hind 

 foot 78 mm.: Pacific slope. 



Subspecies of M. occidentalis 



M. 0. occidentalis Baird. Central California to the Willamette 



Valley, Oregon. 



M. 0. spissigrada Bangs. White stripes very broad, extending on to 



the sides of the tail: region of Puget Sound. 

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