American Hog-nosed Skunk

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American Hog-nosed Skunk
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mephitidae
Genus: Conepatus
Species: C. leuconotus
Binomial name
Conepatus leuconotus
(Lichtenstein, 1832)

The American Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus leuconotus) is a species of hog-nosed skunk from Central and North America, and is the largest skunk in the world, growing to lengths of up to 2.7 feet (82.5cm), and weighing 2-6 lb (0.9-2.7 kg).[1] Recent work has concluded that the Western Hog-nosed Skunk (formerly Conepatus mesoleucus) is the same species, and that Conepatus leuconotus is the correct name of the merged populations.[2]

In Texas, it is commonly known as the rooter skunk for its habit of rooting and overturning rocks and debris in search of food.

American Hog-nosed skunks have a single, broad white stripe from the top of the head to the base of the tail, with the tail itself being completely white. The rest of the body is black.

This species tends to inhabit rocky foothills and brushy areas where den space is readily available, avoiding hot deserts and forests. It is omnivorous, feeding primarily on insects and vegetation, though it will take small mammals and reptiles when available. While sometimes considered a pest by crop farmers due to their rooting habits, this is largely misplaced, as it generally prefers insects to agricultural plants. Like all skunk species, it possesses powerful anal glands used to deter would-be attackers.

Though not threatened through most of its range, one subspecies, the Big Thicket hog-nosed skunk (C. l. telmalestes) of southeastern Texas, is now considered extinct by the IUCN.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Eastern Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus leuconotus)
  2. ^ Western Hog-nosed Skunk
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