The southern spotted skunk (''Spilogale angustifrons'') is a species of mammal in the

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...

family, (Mephitidae). It ranges from Costa Rica to southern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. At one time this skunk was considered to be a subspecies of the

eastern spotted skunk The eastern spotted skunk (''Spilogale putorius'') is a small, relatively slender skunk found in North America, throughout the eastern United States and in small areas of Canada and Mexico. This small skunk is more weasel-like in body shape th ...

(''Spilogale putorius'').

Description

The southern spotted skunk grows to a length of with a tail length of and weighs between . It is conspicuously coloured in black and white and resembles the

western spotted skunk The western spotted skunk (''Spilogale gracilis'') is a spotted skunk of western North America. Description With a total length of , the western spotted skunk is smaller than the striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis''). Males, which weigh , are ...

in appearance. It has anal glands beneath the tail which secrete

musk Musk ( Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial s ...

which can be sprayed with considerable accuracy at a

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

Distribution and habitat

The southern spotted skunk is native to Central America where its range includes Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

, Costa Rica and

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

. It is present at altitudes of up to in dry rocky areas with scrub and open woodland, and also in agricultural areas.

Behaviours

The southern spotted skunk is nocturnal and secretive in its habits. It climbs trees but mainly searches for food on the ground for the small mammals, insects, birds, eggs, grain and fruit on which it feeds.

Status

The chief threats faced by the southern spotted skunk are human activities such as road construction, wildfires and agricultural monoculture. Though not very common, it has a large range and is presumed to have a large total population, and it is able to adapt to disturbance to its habitat. For these reasons, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

has assessed it as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

References

External links

Animal rescue X: Southern Spotted Skunk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skunk, Southern spotted Southern spotted Carnivorans of Central America Carnivorans of North America Mammals of Central America Mammals of Mexico Least concern biota of North America Mammals described in 1902 Taxa named by Arthur H. Howell