Strip skunks
| Strip skunks | ||||||||||||
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Striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mephitis | ||||||||||||
| E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & F. Cuvier , 1795 |
The striped skunks ( Mephitis ) are a genus of predators living in North and Central America from the family of the skunks or skunks (Mephitidae). There are two types:
- the striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis ), which is common in southern Canada , almost all of the USA and northern Mexico , and
- the Haubenskunk ( Mephitis macroura ), whose distribution area extends from the southwest of the USA via Mexico to Costa Rica .
features
The fur of the strip skunk is mostly black. The top of the head is white and the eponymous stripe runs along the back. With stripe skunk, two stripes run along the back or the flanks that meet again at the base of the tail and frame a black back field. There are two color morphs in the hooded skunk: the more common one has a single, wide, white stripe along the back, the rarer the whole back is colored black with the exception of two narrow flank lines. The tail is bushy and also patterned in black and white. The physique is elongated, the limbs are short and stocky. The feet each end in five toes, the front paws have long, curved claws. The muzzle is short and wide, the eyes are small, as are the rounded ears.
These animals reach a head body length of 28 to 38 centimeters, the bushy tail is up to 25 centimeters long in the striped skunk and up to 40 centimeters long in the hooded skunk. The weight of these animals varies between 0.7 and 2.5 kilograms, with the males being slightly heavier than the females.
Way of life
Striped skunks inhabit a number of habitats, they can be found in forests, in grasslands and also in dry areas such as deserts. To a certain extent, they are also cultural followers who settle in agricultural areas and sometimes in cities.
Strip skunks live mostly solitary and go for food alone. The territories of the females cover around 110 to 400 hectares, those of the males are significantly larger. They are predominantly crepuscular or nocturnal and spend the day in burrows they have dug themselves or in other hiding places, sometimes in buildings. In the northern regions of their range they hibernate and retreat to a burrow for several weeks. During this hibernation, several of these otherwise solitary animals can often be found together in one burrow.
Like all skunks, strip skunks have anal glands , from which they can spray a strongly smelling secretion in the event of an attack. The high-contrast coloring is already used to warn predators, to underline the threat, they stamp their legs and bar their teeth. If this does not help, turn your backside towards the attacker and pour out your secretion, whereby you can spray 2 to 3 meters far and aim mainly at the face of the enemy.
food
Striped skunks are opportunistic omnivores that ingest small vertebrates such as rodents , lizards and amphibians as well as insects , crustaceans and other invertebrates, as well as plant material such as fruits, nuts, leaves and seeds. The diet fluctuates seasonally, in summer they eat more fruits and insects, in winter rodents and other small animals are more likely to eat. In autumn they put on a reserve of fat for the cold season.
Reproduction
The mating takes place between February and April, between May and June the female gives birth to an average of four to five young. The gestation period is between 60 and 80 days, but a dormancy takes part of this time, so that the actual gestation period is shorter.
Newborn strip skunks are initially blind and helpless, their eyes open at three weeks and after eight to ten weeks they are weaned. In autumn they separate from their mother, and in the following spring they reproduce for the first time.
The life expectancy of these animals is relatively short. 90% of all strip skunks do not survive the first winter, overall they rarely get older than two to three years in the wild. In human care they can reach the age of six, in exceptional cases up to 12 years.
Systematics
The genus of strip skunks includes the following two recent species :
| German name | Scientific name | distribution | Hazard level Red List of IUCN |
Remarks | image |
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| Strip skunk |
Mephitis mephitis ( Schreber , 1776) |
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 ( Least Concern - not at risk)
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13 subspecies Its range extends from central and southern Canada over large parts of the USA to northern Mexico. |
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| Hooded skunk |
Mephitis macroura Lichtenstein , 1832 |
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( Least Concern - not at risk)
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4 subspecies Its range extends from the southern USA to northwestern Costa Rica |
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Phylogenetic systematics of the Skunks
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The first scientific description of the genus comes from Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire from 1795, who chose the striped skunk (then [Viverra] mephitis ) as the type species .
The striped skunks as a whole represent the sister group of the spotted skunks ( Spilogals ), which are also widespread in North and Central America , although the ancestors of these two genera separated about 12 million years ago. The Belarusian skunks ( Conepatus ), which are more concentrated on South America, are contrasted with these. Within the strip skunks, radiation to the species known today took place around 3 to 3.5 million years ago.
Strip skunks and people
Strip skunks have few natural enemies. Due to their effective defense, they are very rarely attacked by larger mammals; birds of prey or owls represent a greater danger . Another common cause of death is automobile traffic. Despite everything, they are common and not endangered species.
The skunk fur has long been a very popular fashion item. Strip skunks are still hunted to a much lesser extent than they were before the Second World War; for a while they were also kept in fur farms.
Increasingly, they are kept as pets (pet skunks). You can buy them today especially in the USA (not legal in all countries), Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Breeders sell their animals for 150 - 400 €. Due to the targeted breeding, there are now a variety of different colors such as brown-white, champagne-white, gray-white (smoke) or white (albino or BEW (black eyes)). They can become very tame in captivity and can be kept like a cat, with many not being 100% house trained. So that they do not spray at home, their anal glands are usually removed, but this is not legal in most countries and, according to some owners, is not necessary.
supporting documents
- ^ Chemistry of Skunk Spray
- ↑ Mephitis mephitis in endangered species red list of the IUCN 2008. Posted by: F. Reid, K. slipway, 2008. Accessed 28 December 2011 ..
- ↑ a b Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Mephitidae in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
- ↑ Mephitis macroura in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: AD Cuarón, F. Reid, K. slipway, 2008. Accessed 28 December 2011 ..
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Mephitis ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2016 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).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
