Patagonian skunk
| Patagonian skunk | ||||||||||||
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Patagonian Skunk ( Conepatus humboldtii ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Conepatus humboldtii | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1837 |
The Patagonische Skunk ( Conepatus humboldtii ) is one of four kinds of the hog-nosed skunk within known as "skunk" skunk . It is widespread in Patagonia in the area of the southern tip of the South American mainland and is therefore the most southerly occurring species of the Skunks.
features
The Patagonian Skunk reaches a total length of about 50 to 60 centimeters, of which the tail accounts for 15 to 18 centimeters. The females are usually slightly smaller than the males. The weight is around 1.1 to 4.5 kilograms. The fur is black with two broad, white stripes that extend from the back of the head to the largely white tail. A white facial drawing is missing.
distribution
The Patagonian Skunk is common in Patagonia in the area of the southern tip of the South American mainland in southern Chile and Argentina and is thus the most southerly occurring type of Skunks. However , it is not found on the Tierra del Fuego Islands south of the Strait of Magellan .
The Skunk lives in grass and scrubland as well as on scree surfaces, but can also be found near human settlements. It occurs at altitudes between 200 and 700 meters.
Systematics
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Phylogenetic systematics of the Skunks
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The Patagonian Skunk is classified as an independent species within the genus of the White- legged Skunk ( Conepatus ), which consists of four species. The first scientific description comes from John Edward Gray in 1837 using an individual from the Strait of Magellan in southern Chile. Within the species, three subspecies are distinguished with the nominate form Conepatus humboldtii humboldtii and Conepatus humboldtii castaneus and Conepatus humboldtii proteus .
Within the Belarusian Skunk, the Patagonian Skunk is the sister species of the Amazon Skunk ( Conepatus semistriatus ); these two are compared to the remaining species Andean Skunk ( Conepatus chinga ) and Piglet Skunk ( Conepatus leuconotus ) as a common taxon . In their entirety, the Belarusian Skunks represent the sister group of the genera of the Striped Skunks ( Mephitis ) and Fleckenskunks ( Spilogale ), which are common in North and Central America . The radiation of the species within the Belarusian Skunk took place about 11.2 million years ago. This resulted in immigration to the South American continent long before the Central American land bridge was formed about 3 million years ago.
Hazard and protection
The Patagonian Skunk is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as “least concern” due to its relatively frequent occurrence in its area of distribution and the comparatively little changed habitats.
Potential threats to the species exist primarily from heavy hunting, especially for obtaining skunk skins . This peaked in the 1960s and 1980s, but was of lesser importance than other species in the genus. In 1983 the export of Patagonian skunk skins was banned in Argentina and Chile, today only the trade in animals as pets is of little importance.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Weylan Shaw: Conepatus humboldtii in the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- ↑ a b c d Conepatus humboldtii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: L. Emmons, K. slipway, K., 2008. Accessed December 29, 2011th
- ↑ a b c Katrin Nyakatura, Olaf RP Bininda-Emonds: Updating the evolutionary history of Carnivora (Mammalia): a new species-level supertree complete with divergence time estimates. BMC Biology 10, 2012. doi : 10.1186 / 1741-7007-10-12
- ↑ a b c Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Conepatus humboldtii ( Memento of the original from January 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
Web links
- Conepatus humboldtii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: L. Emmons, K. slipway, K., 2008. Accessed December 29, 2011th
- Weylan Shaw: Conepatus humboldtii on the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved December 29, 2011.