Mammals of the Ardis Local Fauna 11 



Remarks: The partial dentary was differentiated from Mustela vison 

 because the condyle tapers to a point lingually, whereas it is blunt 

 in Mustela vison. The ramus of Spilogale is generally smaller and less 

 robust, is laterally compressed, and lacks the distinct curvature found 

 in mink. It also lacks the flattened ventral proximal edge found in the 

 dentary of mink. It differed from other mustelids in the shape and size 

 of the M2 alveoli and overall jaw size and shape. It is significantly 

 smaller than skunks of the genera Conepatus and Mephitis and is most 

 similar to Spilogale in size and general jaw morphology. 



The eastern spotted skunk is found typically in prairies, brushy 

 open forests, and mountain habitats. They no longer occur in the immediate 

 area of the fossil site and are found sparsely in the Piedmont of 

 South Carolina today (Webster et al. 1985). 



This represents the first fossil record of this species from the 

 State. 



Mephitis mephitis - Striped Skunk 

 Material: 1 partial right dentary containing the alveoli of the m3 (.245); 

 1 left Ml (.256). 



Remarks: The partial dentary was assigned to this species based on 

 the length of the third molar and the presence of auxiliary roots. The 

 overall size of the dentary was intermediate between Spilogale and 

 Conepatus. 



The striped skunk is found in the area of the site today and through- 

 out much of North America and well into Central America (Hall 1981). 

 It can be found in habitats varying from high mountain forests to brushy, 

 semi-open areas, but appears to be much less common in wetlands 

 (Webster et al. 1985). 



This is the first report of the striped skunk in the fossil record 

 from South Carolina. 



Conepatus sp. cf. C. robustus - Extinct Hog-nosed Skunk 

 Material: 1 humerus (.247); 1 femur (.248); 1 partial dentary with p3 

 and alveoli of ml (.249); 1 astragalus (.250). 



Remarks: The fossil remains have been referred to this species based 

 on their extremely large size in comparison with the living hog-nosed 

 skunk Conepatus leuconotus (Martin 1978). The Ardis fossils exhibit a 

 30% size increase over C. leuconotus. No definable differences were 

 observed between the Ardis material and the type of C. robustus from 



