MAMMALS 279 



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 Mephitinse 



ai Snout not proboscis-like. 



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



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



skunks . 2. Spilogale. 



ao Snout proboscis-like; on the Mexican border 3. Conepatus. 



I. Mephitis Geoffroy and Cuvier. Body stout; claws large and 

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

 convex; dentition 3/3, i/i, 3/3, 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. nigra. 



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. hudsonica. 



ba From Louisiana and Te.xas northwards M. mesomelas. 



bs In New ^Mexico and Arizona M. estor. 



M. niacroura miller i. 



hi On the Pacific slope M. occidentails. 



M. nigra (Peale and Beauvois). Common skunk (Fig. 159). Color 

 black, with a white stripe on the nose and forehead and a white patch on 

 the back 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 600 mm.; tail 229 mm.; hind foot 60 mm.: northeastern 

 States; southward to Virginia; westward to Indiana. 



M. mephitis (Schreber). Color arrangement like M. nigra, 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.: Xova 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 260 mm.; hind foot 82 mm.: 



