Part 4

1890. Spilogale leucoparia Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 4:11, October 8, type from Mason, Mason County, Texas.

1891. Spilogale phenax arizonae Mearns, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 3:256, June 5, type from near Fort Verde, Yavapai County, Arizona.

1897. Spilogale ambigua Mearns, Preliminary diagnoses of new mammals ... from the Mexican boundary line, p. 3, January 12 [reprinted in Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 20:460, December 24, 1897], type from summit of Eagle Cliff Mtn., 2 mi. S of Monument No. 5 of Emory's Survey which, according to Miller (U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull., 128:134, April 29, 1924), is "Eagle Mountain, Chihuahua, Mexico, about four miles south of Dona Ana County, New Mexico."

In 1906 (N. Amer. Fauna, 26:1-55, 10 pls., November 24) A. H. Howell's "Revision of the skunks of the genus Spilogale" was published and the four names listed above were retained by him as applying to four species (not subspecies). His map (op. cit., pl. 1) showing the geographic distribution of the four kinds looks reasonable enough at first inspection and does not indicate any overlapping of the geographic ranges of the species in question, but if a map be made by plotting the localities of occurrence recorded by Howell (op. cit.), for specimens examined by him, a notably different geographic distribution is shown. For one thing the geographic ranges of gracilis, leucoparia, arizonae and ambigua coincide over a considerable part of Arizona. Also, specimens collected in recent years from Arizona and adjoining areas do not readily fit into the "species" recognized by Howell; some specimens are structurally intermediate between two or more of these species and other specimens combine the diagnostic characters ascribed to two or more of the alleged species. For these and other reasons a re-appraisal of the application of the names mentioned above long has been indicated.

Before re-appraising the names it is pertinent to recall that Howell's paper in 1906 on Spilogale was only the second revisionary paper that he prepared. It was prepared by a man who at that time lacked much taxonomic experience, and who held to a morphotype concept. Howell worked under the guidance, in the literal sense, of Dr. C. Hart Merriam. The concept of species and subspecies held by Merriam fortunately was recorded by him (Jour. Mamm., 1:6-9, November 28, 1919). Merriam's reliance on degree of difference and his disregard of intergradation were naturally (and necessarily, we think, in Howell's work in 1906) adopted by Howell. For example, of six specimens from Point Reyes in west-central California, a place less than ten miles from the type locality of Spilogale phenax phenax, Howell (op. cit.:33) assigned one specimen to the subspecies Spilogale phenax latifrons! S. p. latifrons occurs in Oregon and in northern California--no nearer than 200 miles to Point Reyes. Howell's assignment of this specimen to S. p. latifrons was not a lapsus, as persons with the modern (geographic) concept of a subspecies would be likely to suppose. Howell's assignment of the one specimen to S. p. latifrons and the other five specimens to S. p. phenax was intentional, as he told one of us (Hall). He explained that he relied upon the morphological characters of the individual animal instead of upon the morphological characters of a population of animals. To him, therefore, there was nothing inconsistent in his procedure in 1906. Also, variation that was the result of difference in age and variation that was the result of individual deviation were not understood, or at least not taken into account, by Howell in 1906, nor by Merriam in 1890. For example, Merriam selected the most extensively white specimen available to him for the holotype of Spilogale leucoparia. He, and Howell in 1906, used the extensiveness of the white areas of that particular specimen (see fig. 3, pl. 2, N. Amer. Fauna, 26, 1906) as a character diagnostic of the "species" S. leucoparia although each of the authors had available two other specimens of S. leucoparia from the type locality, and all of the other referred specimens in the United States National Museum, that were less extensively white than the holotype. The individual specimen was the primary basis for the species or subspecies and one selected specimen alone often was used in making comparisons between a given named kind and some other species or subspecies. Also, be it remembered, degree of difference, and not presence or absence of intergradation, was the basis on which subspecific versus specific rank was accorded to a named kind of animal. Howell wrote on the labels of some specimens of Spilogale "not typical" when the individuals differed from the type specimen in features that owe their existence to individual variation, and he wrote the same words on the labels of other specimens that had not yet developed mastoidal crests because the animals were not yet adult.

Anyone who examines the specimens that Howell used will do well to bear in mind the circumstances noted above concerning Howell's paper of 1906; otherwise the reasons for Howell's identifications of certain specimens can not be understood.

We have examined and compared the holotypes, and other specimens used by Howell. While doing so we have borne in mind the degree of individual variation well shown by each of several series of specimens (for example, that in six adult males, from the Animas Mountains of New Mexico, recorded by V. Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, 53:339, 1932) and age variation (for example, that shown in specimens of S. interrupta from Douglas County, Kansas). The degree of each of these kinds of variation, although considerable, is not extraordinary. That is to say, the variations are of approximately the same degree as we previously have ascertained to exist in Mephitis mephitis and in Mustela frenata, two species that are in the same family, Mustelidae, as Spilogale. As a result of our comparisons, we conclude, first that the four names mentioned at the beginning of this account all pertain to one species, and second that the three names S. gracilis, S. p. arizonae and S. ambigua, and probably also S. leucoparia, were based on individual variations in one subspecies. S. gracilis has priority and will apply; the other names are properly to be arranged as synonyms of it, as follows:

1890. Spilogale gracilis Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 3:83, September 11.

1890. Spilogale leucoparia Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 4:11, October 8.

1891. Spilogale phenax arizonae Mearns, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 3:256, June 5.

1897. Spilogale ambigua Mearns, Preliminary diagnoses of new mammals ... from the Mexican boundary line, p. 3, January 12.

Some information in support of the above arrangement, along with some other observations on Spilogale, are as follows: The type specimen of Spilogale gracilis bears on the original skin-label in the handwriting of Vernon Bailey, the collector, the statement that the tail was imperfect. The recorded measurements of 400 for total length and 142 for length of tail, therefore, are presumed to be subject to correction. This presumption and the further circumstance that other specimens from Arizona and New Mexico are as large as specimens of comparable age and sex that we have examined from Nevada and Utah of Spilogale gracilis saxatilis Merriam, indicate that S. g. saxatilis differs less from the allegedly smaller S. g. gracilis than was previously thought. Nevertheless, from north to south (for example, from northern Nevada to southern Arizona) there is an increase in extent of white areas at the expense of black areas of the pelage. As a result, the lateralmost white stripe in S. g. saxatilis averages narrower (and often is wanting) than in S. g. gracilis. The absence, or narrowness, of the lateralmost white stripe seems to be the principal basis for recognizing S. g. saxatilis, just as the tendency to narrow rostrum in Coloradan specimens seems to be the principal basis for recognizing Spilogale gracilis tenuis A. H. Howell. Both S. g. saxatilis and S. g. tenuis are "poorly" differentiated from S. g. gracilis and from each other.

The holotype of Spilogale ambigua Mearns is slightly smaller than other adult males of comparable age, and the braincase, relative to its width, is slightly deeper than in the average adult male. These variations, nevertheless, are within the range of individual variation, as also are those characterizing the holotype of Spilogale phenax arizonae Mearns. The latter specimen is an adult male, with much inflated mastoidal bullae, nearly straight dorsal profile on the skull, relatively shallow braincase, and only slightly worn teeth.

The holotype of Spilogale leucoparia Merriam, as pointed out above, is an extreme example of the extensiveness of the white areas of the pelage at the expense of the black areas. This feature occurs more often in the southwestern desert areas of the United States than it does farther north. In addition to the extensiveness of the white markings, the other two characters allegedly distinctive of S. leucoparia are broad and much flattened braincase and great degree of inflation of the mastoidal bullae. Although these three mentioned features do distinguish S. leucoparia from S. indianola to the eastward, they seem not to set S. leucoparia apart from S. gracilis to the westward. For example, in Arizona some specimens are extensively white and some others have the braincase flattened and the mastoidal bullae much inflated. V. Bailey (N. Amer. Fauna, 53:339, 1932) refers to a specimen (, No. 147252 USBS) from the head of the Rio Mimbres in New Mexico in which, as our comparisons show, the inflation of the mastoidal bullae exceeds that of any Texan specimen of S. leucoparia, the holotype included. Also, at the type locality of S. leucoparia, subadult male No. 188467 USNM and adult male No. 188468 USNM are narrower across the mastoidal region than is the holotype. In summary and review, specimens from the eastern part of the range heretofore ascribed to S. leucoparia nearly all have much inflated mastoidal bullae whereas less than half of the specimens of Spilogale from western New Mexico and Arizona have these bullae as greatly inflated; but, in No. 147252 from the head of the Rio Mimbres of New Mexico the inflation of the bullae is more extreme than in any specimen that we know of that has been referred to S. leucoparia.

If intergradation occurs between Spilogale gracilis gracilis and Spilogale indianola and between one or both of these kinds on the one hand and Spilogale interrupta on the other hand, central Texas would be a logical place to collect intergrades. We suppose that such intergradation will be found to occur and that eventually Spilogale putorius will be the specific name to apply to all of the Recent subspecies of spotted skunks. Until proof of such intergradation is forthcoming we employ current nomenclature.

~Spilogale gracilis microdon~ A. H. Howell

A. H. Howell (N. Amer. Fauna, 26:31, November 24, 1906) listed as Spilogale arizonae martirensis one specimen ([Female] sad.-yg., 145886 USBS) from Comondu, which is the type locality of S. microdon. Our examination of [Female] No. 145886 convinces us that it is referable to S. microdon.

Examination of the materials used by Howell (op. cit.) reveals that there is an increase in size of animal and its skull from within the geographic range of S. g. martirensis southward to Cape St. Lucas which is the type locality of S. lucasana. Specimens of S. microdon, which so far has been recorded only from Comondu, the type locality, are, as would be expected, intermediate in size between S. g. martirensis and S. lucasana. The differential characters of these three named kinds of Spilogale are principally those of size, and we can see no characters judged to be of more than subspecific worth. Consequently the named kinds should stand as:

Spilogale gracilis martirensis Elliott;

Spilogale gracilis microdon A. H. Howell;

Spilogale gracilis lucasana Merriam.

~Spilogale gracilis microrhina~ Hall

When Hall (Jour. Mamm., 7:53, February 15, 1926) named as new Spilogale phenax microrhina, he did not mention specimens previously recorded by A. H. Howell (N. Amer. Fauna, 26:32, November 24, 1906) as Spilogale phenax from San Bernardino Peak (57026 USBS), La Puerta (99580 USBS), Dulzura (55848, 56173, 56873, 33693/45728, 36291/48656 and 36292/48657) in southern California. On geographic grounds these specimens would be expected to be S. g. microrhina although geographically slightly outside the area that could be delimited by Hall's (op. cit.) marginal record-stations of occurrence. Our examination of the pertinent specimens reveals that they are Spilogale gracilis microrhina. The localities from which the specimens came are, respectively, the northeasternmost, easternmost and southernmost occurrences so far listed for the subspecies.

~Conepatus mesoleucus mearnsi~ Merriam

Examination of the holotypes of Conepatus filipensis Merriam, Conepatus pediculus Merriam, Conepatus sonoriensis Merriam, and Conepatus mesoleucus mearnsi Merriam, and other specimens of the two kinds last named, convinces us that all are the same species and that the names should stand as follows: Conepatus mesoleucus filipensis Merriam (type locality, Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca); Conepatus mesoleucus pediculus Merriam (Sierra Guadalupe, Coahuila); and Conepatus mesoleucus sonoriensis Merriam (Camoa, Rio Mayo, Sonora).

One method of designating the ages of individuals in Conepatus is to recognize four categories from younger to older, as follows: 1) juvenile--retaining one or more deciduous teeth; 2) young--sutures open and clearly to be seen between bones of the facial part of the skull; 3) subadult--skull of adult form, but lacking sagittal and lambdoidal crests and retaining faint traces of sutures between facial bones; and 4) adult--sutures obliterated, lambdoidal ridge high and temporal ridges (of females) or sagittal crest (of males) prominent.

On this basis of designating age, the holotype of C. pediculus is young and nearer the juvenal than the subadult stage. Its small size is partly the result of its youth. Other than its small size we find no characters to distinguish it from C. m. mearnsi. Unfortunately no young male of C. m. mearnsi of the same age as the holotype of C. pediculus is available. Also, from the general area of the Sierra Guadalupe, Coahuila, only the one specimen of Conepatus mesoleucus (the holotype of C. m. pediculus) is known. Consequently, we can not yet prove that some young males of C. m. mearnsi are as small as the holotype of C. pediculus. Because of this lack of proof we tentatively recognize the subspecies Conepatus mesoleucus pediculus instead of placing the name Conepatus pediculus in the synonomy of Conepatus mesoleucus mearnsi.

The holotype of C. sonoriensis is a young female, older than the holotype of C. pediculus, and approximately midway between the juvenal and subadult stages.