1894.J MAMMALS OF tTBFGTTAT. 303 



which had some of the long hairs of the tail just tipped with 

 white, giving the tail a frosted appearance when seen at close 

 quarters, but not noticeable at a httle distance. I made inquiries, 

 but could not find anyone who had seen a white-backed or tailed 

 Skunk in Uruguay. A dried skin measures 22 inches from the 

 nose to the root of the tail ; the tail itself is 8 inches long. 



Dr. Burmeister (' Description Phj'sique de la Republique Argen- 

 tine,' tome iii. p. 162) includes the Argentine Skunk under the 

 name of Mephitis suffocans of lUiger (which is, I suppose, a 

 synonym of C. viapurito). The Skunk he describes agrees with 

 mine tolerably well with the exception of the white lines, which 

 are said to rise on each side of the head separately. In a note he 

 says expressly "les deux raies sont toujours separees sur le 

 front." In this respect my animal agrees with Gray's description 

 of the Skunk of Chile, which, however, has a white tail {M. chilensis). 

 I would suggest giving the various Neotropical Skunks, which 

 differ in a greater or less degree from one another, subspecific 

 names. 



The variation in the Uruguayan Skunk being constant, I have 

 given it a name, and have called it after the river upon which 

 I had my headquarters during my residence in Uruguay. 



A skin and skulls of this subspecies are now in the British 

 Museum. 



It is curious that Burmeister makes no mention of a white- 

 backed, white-tailed Skunk (as figured by Mr. W. H. Hudson) 

 inhabiting Argentina. 



The Skunk is very common in Soriano and Flores, and very 

 tame and impudent. We were often annoyed by their coming 

 about the estancia at night, probably after the fowls. In the 

 still summer nights an overpowering smell of Skunk used to make 

 us aware that one of these little beasts was wandering about, 

 perhaps actuall)^ in the patio, and you never knew whether on going 

 out you might not stumble over one or find it in your bedroom ! 



A Skunk wUl seldom trouble to get out of your way, and faces 

 a dog rather than run from it. I only once saw one run away, and 

 that was after I had peppered him at long range with a charge of 

 snipe-shot. When out feeding on the camp in the evening the 

 Skunk's paces are a shambling trot and a gallop. But they can go 

 pretty fast when they like, e. g. the one I spoke of just now ; 

 every now and then it turned and faced the dog, who was not 

 very keen to attack it, simply and solely because he had just killed 

 another and was suffering all the penalties. This dog (" Jim ") 

 was a short-legged, heavily-built terrier — something between bull 

 and fox — and the best vermin dog I ever saw. I never knew him 

 turn from a Skunk, and always had gi-eat difficulty in getting him 

 to leave one " stuck up " in a dilRcult position. I have seen him 

 kill a good many, and in the course of his rather long life be must 

 have killed hundreds. The strong smell did not seem to have 

 affected his scenting powers, for he had a splendid nose and 

 would line a lizard or anything else. When I heard him give 



