HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER CARNIVORA
--> SUBORDER CANIFORMIA
--> FAMILY Mephitidae
GENUS Spilogale
Author: | Gray, 1865. | Citation: | Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1865: 150. | Type Species: | Mephitis interrupta Rafinesque, 1820 (= [Viverra] putorius Linnaeus, 1758). | Comments: | Mead (1968) argued that S. p. gracilis and "possibly" leucoparia are reproductively isolated from eastern populations and therefore should be considered distinct species. Preliminary genetic data (Dragoo et al., 1993) support Mead (1968). However, both taxa were included by Van Gelder (1959). Kinlaw (1995) restricted putorius to the eastern spotted skunk. Owen et al. (1996) provided karyotypic data to support recognition of the southern spotted skunk, angustifrons, as a distinct species. Verts et al. (2001) reported information on subspecies of gracilis which included western populations of spotted skunks. They did not include taxa regarded by Hall and Kelson (1959) as pygmaea or angustifrons. Synonyms allocated according to Hall and Kelson (1959), Kinlaw (1995), and Verts et al. (2001). |
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