MAMMALS—MELINAE-MEPHITIS BICOLOR. 
19 
throughout the Northern, Middle, and Central States. Should the upper Missouri specimens he 
the same, its distribution will be still wider. The specimen from Louisiana, besides the pecu¬ 
liarity of color, differs from the northern ones before me in a narrower and more tapering skull 
anteriorly, and may indicate a different species in the southwest. 
From the very great similarity of the different species of American skunks, it becomes a 
matter of much difficulty to settle their synonomy. The common species of eastern North 
America, by many of the earlier authors, has been mixed up and entirely confounded with 
those from South America of an entirely distinct genus, ( Thiosmus .) For this reason it becomes 
impossible to quote the Viverra mephitis of Erxleben, Schreber, Gmelin, and other authors. 
For a long time the name of Mephitis chinga, as imposed by Tiedemann, was supposed to be 
the first name restricted to our common skunk. That of Viverra mephitica, given several 
years before, however, seems to be entitled to replace it, the generic and specific names being 
sufficiently distinct, and the alliteration not more objectionable than in many other fully accepted 
species, as Mus musculus, &c. 
List of specimens. 
Catalog’e 
number. 
Correspond’g 
No. of skull. 
Locality. 
When 
collected. 
Whence obtained. 
Original 
number. 
| 
Nature of 
specim’n 
Collected by— 
1068 
2047 
Middleboro’, Mass__ 
Dec. 17, ’55 
J. W. P. Jenks_ 
Skin_ 
1069 
.do. 
Dec. 5, 1855 
.do. 
_ „do_ 
1070 
.do. 
Dec. 3, 1855 
.do 
__do._ 
1071 
Nov. 20, ’55 
1426 
2292 
Spring, 1856 
81 
Washington, D. C_ 
292 
Calcasieu, La_ 
G. Wiirdemann_ 
? 206 
1177 
Bois de Sioux, Neb .... 
1853 
Gov. I. I. Stevens. 
3 
--do_ 
Dr. Geo. Suckley. 
? 1864 
Heart river, Neb ...... 
Sept. 21, ’56 
Lt. G. K. Warren.. 
. 
--do_ 
Dr. F. V. Hayden. 
MEPHITIS BICOLOK. 
Little Striped Skunk. 
Mephitis bicolor, J. E. Gray, Charlesworth’s Mag. N. H. I, 1837, 581. 
Mephitis zorilla, Lichtenstein, Ueber Mephitis, Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, for 1836, (1838,) 281 ; tab. ii, f. 2. (Not of 
Darstellungen neuer Saugt. ; tab. xlviii, f. 2, which represents the African animal.) 
Wagner, Suppl. Schreber II, 1841, 199 ; tab. cxxiii. 
Aud. & Bach. N. Am. Quad. Ill, 1854, 276, (not figured.) 
? ? Mephitis interrupta, Rafinesque, Annals of Nature, 3, 4. 
Fischer, Synopsis, 1829, 162. 
? Mephitis interrupta, Lichstentein, Ueber Mephitis, Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, for 1836, (1838,) 283 ; tab. ii, f. 1. 
“ Le zorille, Buffon, Hist. Nat. XIII, 1765, 302; tab. xli.” (Fide Lichtenstein.) 
Sp. Ch. —Smallest of North American species. Tail vertebrse, less than half the body; with the hairs not much more than half. 
Black, with broad white patch on forehead, and crescent before each ear ; four parallel dorsal stripes interrupted and broken 
behind ; a shorter stripe on side of belly, running into a posterior transverse crescent, which are white. Tail black throughout, 
to base of hairs, except a pure white pencil at the end. 
This diminutive species, the smallest of the American skunks, is eminently conspicuous for 
the great beauty of its markings. In length is does not exceed an ermine weasel, though of pro- 
