Spotted Skunk 
213 
Smaller than Mephitis with more slender bodies; pads on both 
fore and hind feet divided into four tubercles at base of toes. 
Pattern of coloration entirely different from that of Mephitis and 
for all Colorado species may be described as follows: Ground color 
black; white spot on forehead between eyes; four parallel white 
stripes on upper parts, commencing between or just behind ears, 
and extending to about the middle of the back, the outer one on 
each side continued forward under and in front of the ear; a white 
stripe on each side commencing just behind the fore leg, and 
extending backward parallel with the stripe above and somewhat 
farther back, then curving up onto the back, stopping about even 
with the inside edge of that stripe; between the ends of the two 
transverse stripes thus formed are two white spots or patches, in 
line with the two inner dorsal stripes ; at about the hips, or a little 
in front, are two transverse white bands reaching about to the 
line of the median stripes ; a small white patch on each side of rump ; 
a narrow white stripe or patch on each side of tail at base ; end of 
tail white in all Colorado species except S. interrupia. Practically 
the only variations in this pattern are in the width of the white 
stripes, and the length of the dorsal stripes, but the skunks of this 
genus are much more uniform in their markings than the species 
of Mephitis. 
Cranial characters: Skull flattened, with rostrum only slightly 
depressed below plane of upper surface ; periotic region and auditory 
bullae greatly inflated ; mastoid and paroccipital processes obsolete 
or very small ; postorbital processes well developed ; tube of auditory 
meatus directed forward; zygomata highly arched, and the highest 
point at the middle of the arch; dentition: i. f ; c. ^; pm. |; m. ^ 
X 2 = 34 ; upper molar wider than long. 
Howell's revision of this genus gives twenty species and 
subspecies as belonging to it, four of which have been taken 
in Colorado; these have quite a wide distribution in some 
respects, but do not range above the Transition Zone, 8,000 
feet being about the limit of elevation in Colorado. Looking 
at the distribution map in Howell's paper, one would say 
that the word "spotted" described the distribution of the 
group, for, while widely distributed geographically, there 
are large areas without a representative of the genus. In 
the United States the following States have some species of 
Spotted Skunk inhabiting them: Virginia, West Virginia 
