574 



REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



supplemented by vegetable food and now and then small birds or 

 mammals. Since most of the things they eat are dead or hidden 

 deep in the ground during the winter, skunks hibernate for several 

 months, coming out, however, in February or March. Perhaps the 

 excessive fat they acquire in the fall also has something to do with 

 their hibernation. Often several individuals den up together. I 

 have known of seven being dug from a small sinkhole in Switzer- 

 land County in, February, and a still larger number is sometimes re- 

 ported. They do not always remain inactive, even till February, 

 but sometimes leave the den and return to it after a foraging ex- 

 pedition. It is at this time of the year that poultry yards are 

 most apt to suffer. 



They are generally nocturnal in habits, although they sometimes 

 venture out in daylight. Wied says that they were more active 

 during the day on the Upper Missouri than in the inhabited re- 

 gions. Their meat is said to be tender and white like that of a 

 young chicken, and very palatable if the scent glands are removed 

 as soon as the animal is killed. However, not many white people 

 would have the courage to eat it. 



The young are born in April or May and there may be as many 

 as eight in a litter. The female cares for them during the summer 

 and teaches them all of the lore of their ancestors. The white 

 colors of the parent no doubt serve as recognition marks by means 

 of which the little ones are able to follow their mother in the 

 darkness. 



MEPHITIS MESOMELAS AVI A (Bangs). 

 ILLINOIS SKUNK. 



Mephitis avia Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 12, p. 32, 1898. 

 Chincha mesomelas avia Howell, N. A. Fauna, No. 20, p. 30, 

 1901. 



Diagnostic characters. — Tail shorter in proportion to the body 

 than in the eastern skunk; palate without a posterior spine. 



Description. — As this species is only a little less variable than 

 the eastern skunk, individuals of both species may be found with 

 exactly the same markings. In general, the Illinois skunk has less 

 white than its eastern relatives, and the white tip of the tail is 

 small or wanting. The species are very distinct, however, as their 

 skulls and proportions show. 



Measurements. — Howell gives the following as the average of 

 two adult males from San Jose, Illinois: Total length, 641 mm. 

 (25y. in.) ; tail, 184 mm. (7% in.) ; hind foot, 65 mm. (2% in.). 



