Mephitidae was traditionally a clade within the Mustelidae family, with the stink badgers combined with other badgers within the Melinae genus, but more recent genetic evidence resulted in the consensus to separate Mephitidae into its own family. Extinct species have also been placed into all of the extant genera besides Mydaus, as well as 9 extinct genera; 26 extinct Mephitidae species have been found, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.
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The pygmy spotted skunk (Spilogale pygmaea) is a species of mammal in the family Mephitidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
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Earliest hog-nosed skunk,Conepatus(Mephitidae, Carnivora), from the early Pliocene of Guanajuato, Mexico and origin of South American skunks. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 154(2), 386-407.
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The hooded skunk (Mephitis macroura) is a species of mammal in the family Mephitidae. Mephītis in Latin means "foul odor", μακρός (makrós) in Greek translates to "long" and οὐρά (ourá) translates to "tail".
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The hog-nosed skunks belong to the genus Conepatus and are members of the family Mephitidae (skunks). They are native to the Americas. They have white backs and tails and black underparts.Skunk. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition [serial online].
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The southern spotted skunk (Spilogale angustifrons) is a species of mammal in the skunk family, (Mephitidae). It ranges from Costa Rica to southern Mexico. At one time this skunk was considered to be a subspecies of the eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale pusorius).
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Sunda stink badgers are omnivorous and highly nocturnal.Vickers SH, Evans MN, Abu Bakar MS, and Benoit Goossens B. (2017). The first recorded activity pattern for the Sunda stink-badger Mydaus javanensis (Mammalia: Carnivora: Mephitidae) using camera traps. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 65: 316–324.
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Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus humboldtii), also known as the Patagonian hog-nosed skunk, is a type of hog-nosed skunk indigenous to the open grassy areas in the Patagonian regions of South Argentina and Chile. It belongs to the order Carnivora and the family Mephitidae.
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Taxonomic status of southern South AmericanConepatus(Carnivora: Mephitidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 167(2), 327-344. Much of the variation in shape and size observed can be attributed to environmental influence. Morphological comparisons show a wide overlap in skull and mandibular structure, as well.
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Sora eggs are eaten by several species including American minks (Mustela vison), skunks (Mephitidae), coyotes (Canis latrans), grackles (Quiscalus spp.), crows (Corvus spp.), and herons (Ardeidae).Andrews, Douglas Alexander. 1973. Habitat utilization by sora, Virginia Rails, and King Rails near southwestern Lake Erie. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University.
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Gervais' Histoire naturelle des mammifères Mydaus javanensis Stink badgers (Mydaus) are a genus of the skunk family of carnivorans, the Mephitidae. They resemble the better-known members of the family Mustelidae also termed 'badgers' (which are themselves a polyphyletic group). There are only two extant species – the Palawan stink badger or pantot (M. marchei), and the Sunda stink badger or teledu (M. javanensis).
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Skunks are North and South American mammals in the family Mephitidae. While related to polecats and other members of the weasel family, skunks have as their closest Old World relatives the stink badgers. The animals are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant smell. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginger colored, but all have warning coloration.
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Although smaller than true badgers, the Palawan stink badger is one of the larger members of the skunk family, the Mephitidae. Adults measure in length, about the same size as the striped skunk native to North America, and weigh anything from . In physical appearance, however, they more closely resemble badgers than skunks. They have a pointed snout with a mobile nose, and a stocky body with short and powerful limbs bearing sharply recurved claws.
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Musteloidea is a superfamily of carnivoran mammals united by shared characters of the skull and teeth. Musteloids share a common ancestor with the pinnipeds, the group which includes seals. The Musteloidea consists of the families Ailuridae (red pandas), Mustelidae (mustelids: weasels, otters, martens, and badgers), Procyonidae (procyonids: raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, olinguitos, ringtails and cacomistles), and Mephitidae (skunks and stink badgers). In North America, ursoids and musteloids first appear in the Chadronian (late Eocene).
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Hepzibah is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in X-Men #107 (October 1977) and was created by Dave Cockrum and Chris Claremont. She is a member of the intergalactic enforcers known as the Starjammers and currently a member of the Uncanny X-Men. The name of her species, Mephitisoid, is derived from the word Mephitidae, the scientific classification for skunks, which her species noticeably resembles.
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All other mephitids are extinct, known through fossils, including those from Eurasia. Skunks were formerly classified as a subfamily of the Mustelidae (the weasel family); however, recent genetic evidence has caused skunks to be treated as a separate family. Similarly, the stink badgers had been classified with badgers, but genetic evidence shows they share a more recent common ancestor with skunks, so they are now included in the skunk family.Mammal Species of the World – Browse: Mephitidae . Bucknell.edu.
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During hibernation, predators of Indiana bats may include black rat snakes (Pantherophis obsoletus) and northern raccoons (Procyon lotor). During other times of the year, northern raccoons have been observed trying to grab bats from the air when they attempt to fly away. Skunks (Mephitidae), Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), and feral cats (Felis catus) may pose a similar threat. If Indiana bats fly from their day roosts during the day, they may be susceptible to predation by hawks (Accipitridae).
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This underestimation is probably due to multiple recurrent mutations as the divergence between the red panda and the raccoon is extremely deep. The most recent molecular- systematic DNA research places the red panda into its own independent family, Ailuridae. Ailuridae are, in turn, part of a trichotomy within the broad superfamily MusteloideaFlynn et al., 2001 that also includes the Procyonidae (raccoons) and a group that further subdivides into the Mephitidae (skunks) and Mustelidae (weasels); but it is not a bear (Ursidae).
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It is found in the Himalayas, including southern China, Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Pakistan. Fossil species of the family are also found in North America. Family Mephitidae (skunks and stink badgers) was once classified as mustelids, but are now recognized as a lineage in their own right. The 12 species of skunks are divided into four genera: Mephitis (hooded and striped skunks, two species), Spilogale (spotted skunks, four species), Mydaus (stink badgers, two species) and Conepatus (hog-nosed skunks, four species).
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The striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus) - also called the African polecat, zoril, zorille, zorilla, Cape polecat, and African skunk - is a member of the family Mustelidae that resembles a skunk (of the family Mephitidae). The name "zorilla" comes from the word "zorro", which in Spanish means "fox". It lives predominantly in dry and arid climates, such as the savannahs and open country of Central, Southern, and sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the Congo basin and the more coastal areas of West Africa.
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It is a "keystone species", keeping its prey populations in balance so some do not outcompete the others and destroy the kelp in which they live. The black-footed ferret is entirely dependent on another keystone species, the prairie dog. A family of four ferrets eats 250 prairie dogs in a year; this requires a stable population of prairie dogs from an area of some . Skunks were formerly included as a subfamily of the mustelids, but are now regarded as a separate family (Mephitidae).
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Mephitidae is a family of mammals comprising the skunks and stink badgers. They are noted for the great development of their anal scent glands, which they use to deter predators. There are twelve extant species of mephitids in four genera: Conepatus (hog-nosed skunks, four species); Mephitis (the hooded and striped skunks, two species); Mydaus (stink badgers, two species); and Spilogale (spotted skunks, four species). The two stink badgers in the genus Mydaus inhabit Indonesia and the Philippines; the other members of the family inhabit the Americas, ranging from Canada to central South America.
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Cats in comparison to dogs and bears have much longer and stronger frontlimbs armed with retractable claws to hold on to prey. Hyenas are dog-like feliforms that have sloping backs due to their front legs being longer than their hindlegs. The raccoon family as well as the red panda are small, bear-like carnivorans with long tails. The other small carnivoran families Nandiniidae, Prionodontidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, Eupleridae, Mephitidae and Mustelidae have through convergent evolution maintained the small, ancestral appearance of the miacoids, though there is some variation seen such as the robust and stout physicality of badgers and the wolverine (Gulo gulo).
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The Palawan stink badger (Mydaus marchei), or pantot, is a carnivoran of the western Philippines named for its resemblance to badgers, its powerful smell, and the largest island to which it is native, Palawan. Like all stink badgers, the Palawan stink badger was once thought to share a more recent common ancestor with badgers than with skunks. Recent genetic evidence, however, has led to their re-classification as one of the Mephitidae, the skunk family of mammals. It is the size of a large skunk or small badger, and uses its badger- like body to dig by night for invertebrates in open areas near patches of brush.
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Most mephitids are long, plus a tail, though the pygmy spotted skunk can be as small as 11 cm (4 in) plus a 7 cm (3 in) tail, and some striped skunks can be up to 82 cm (32 in) plus a 40 cm (16 in) tail. No estimates have been made for overall population sizes of any of the species, but two species are classified as vulnerable. Mephetids in general are not domesticated, though skunks are sometimes kept as pets. The twelve species of Mephitidae are split into four genera: the monotypic Conepatus, hog-nosed skunks; Mephitis, skunks; Mydaus, stink badgers; and Spilogale, spotted skunks.
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The order Carnivora is represented by 16 families of mostly carnivorous and omnivorous mammals found worldwide terrestrially and in marine waters of the poles and some areas of the tropics. Divided into two large suborders, Caniformia (Canidae, Ursidae, Ailuridae, Procyonidae, Mephitidae, Mustelidae, and the Pinnipeds, Otariidae, Phocidae, and Odobenidae) and Feliformia (Nandiniidae, Felidae, Prionodontidae, Viverridae, Hyaenidae, Herpestidae, and Eupleridae), the order contains about 289 recognized species, along with 4 recently extinct species, one of which is included in its own monotypic genus, Dusicyon. Tribe and subfamily taxonomy comes mostly from the first volume of the Handbook of the Mammals of the World on carnivores for the terrestrial species, and the 4th volume on marine mammals for the 3 marine families.
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They live only on the western islands of the Greater Sunda Islands: Sumatra, Java, Borneo in Indonesia and (in the case of the Palawan stink badger) on the Philippine island of Palawan; as well as many other smaller islands in the region. Stink badgers are named for their resemblance to other badgers and for the foul-smelling secretions that they expel from anal glands in self-defense (which is stronger in the Sunda species).Stink badgers at the Badger Pages Stink badgers were traditionally thought to be related to Eurasian badgers in the subfamily Melinae of the weasel family of carnivorans (the Mustelidae), but recent DNA analysis indicates they share a more recent common ancestor with skunks, so experts have now placed them in the skunk family (the Mephitidae, which is the sister group of a clade composed of Mustelidae and Procyonidae, with the red panda also assigned to one of the sister clades). The two existing species are different enough from each other for the Palawan stink badger to be sometimes classified in its own genus, Suillotaxus.
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