222 PROCEEDINGS : BOSTON SOCIETY NATURAL HISTORY. 
ton, Georgia, but heavy freshets, that wholly submerged the swamps, 
prevented him from trying for one. The natives called them “ Hog 
bear.” Some years ago I spent a month on the Savannah River 
above Savannah, and bear were not uncommon then in the heavy 
swamps along the river. I saw two flat skins of bear killed in these 
swamps, but unfortunately did not buy them. They were black 
with whitish noses and rather small. 
Dr. Merriam in his “ Preliminary synopsis of the American bears ” 
(Proc. Biol. soc. Wash., April 13, 1896, vol. 10, p. 79) gives the 
range of the black bear as “Forest — covered parts of North 
America north of the Lower Austral zone,” and of the Louisiana 
bear as “ Louisiana and Texas and probably other parts of Austro- 
riparian zone.” From this one would expect this bear to be Ursus 
luteolus. 
Mephitis elongata Bangs. 
Mephitis rnephitica elongata Bangs, Proc. Bost. soc. nat. hist., 
1895, vol. 26, p. 3. 
Mephitis elongata Bangs, Proc. Biol. soc. Wash., 1896, vol. 10, 
p. 142. 
Tgpe locality. Micco, Brevard County, Florida. 
The long-tailed Florida skunk is found from the Savannah River 
well down into peninsular Florida. Mr. Cory says that “the Indians 
claim that it does not occur south of New River.” The Indians 
being accurate observers, this is probably the case. Though some¬ 
what local, it is a common species, both in the piny woods and 
hummocks, and at St. Mary’s I caught one on the salt marsh. It is 
very apt to take up its abode in the towns, living about old build¬ 
ings, sheds, wood piles, and the like. At St. Mary’s I used to 
watch one that fearlessly came out every evening into the broad 
grassy main street of the city to feed. 
I have specimens from Pinetucky and St. Mary’s, Georgia, and 
New Berlin, Burnside Beach, Micco, Blitches Ferry, and Citronelle, 
Florida. 
• Spilogale ambarvalis sp. nov. 
Mephitis bicolor Allen, Bull. Mus. comp, zool., 1871, vol. 6, p. 
169. (Florida record of Spilogale; nec Mephitis bicolor Gray). 
