? Hog-nosed Skunk
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae Genus: Conepatus
Species
See text.

The hog-nosed skunks are members of the family Mephitidae (skunks). They are native to the Americas. Individual species include the Western Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus mesoleucus) and the Eastern Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus leuconotus). Image File history File links Hog-nosed-skunk. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Families Ailuridae Amphicyonidae† Canidae Felidae Herpestidae Hyaenidae Mephitidae Miacidae† Mustelidae Nandiniidae Nimravidae† Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Procyonidae Ursidae Viverravidae† Viverridae The diverse order Carnivora pronounced: (from Latin caro flesh, + vorare to devour) includes over 260 placental mammals. ... Subfamilies Lutrinae Melinae Mellivorinae Taxidiinae Mustelinae Mustelidae is a family of carnivorous mammals. ... // Genera Conepatus Mydaus Mephitis Spilogale Skunks are moderately small mammals with black-and-white fur belonging to the family Mephitidae and the order Carnivora. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... Genera Mephitis Spilogale Conepatus The skunks or Mephitidae are a family of medium-sized mammals, typically black-and-white-furred, belonging to the order Carnivora. ... The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... The western hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus mesoleucus) is a species of hog-nosed skunk native to the Americas. ...

Description

The individual hog-nosed skunk species vary in size, but among them is included the largest of all skunks. All are characterized by comparatively short hair, especially on the tail, and this appendage lacks the plumelike appearance observed in other skunks. The nose is prolonged into a distinct "snout", naked on the top and sides and evidently used for rooting in the earth after the manner of a pig. In addition, the front feet are armed with long, heavy claws, and the front legs and shoulders are provided with a strong muscular development for digging, as in a badger. This likeness has led to the use in some places of the appropriate name "badger skunk" for these animals. The single white stripe along the back, and including the tail, is a common pattern with these skunks, but this marking is considerably varied, as in the common species. In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... Young Girl Fixing her Hair, by Sophie Gengembre Anderson Hair is a filamentous outgrowth from the skin, found mainly in mammals. ... A Ring-tailed Lemur For other uses, see Tail (disambiguation). ... Human nose in profile You may be looking for Nose, a town in Japan, or The Nose, a story by Nikolai Gogol and an opera by Dmitri Shostakovich. ... Species Sus barbatus Sus bucculentus Sus cebifrons Sus celebensis Sus domesticus Sus heureni Sus philippensis Sus salvanius Sus scrofa Sus timoriensis Sus verrucosus Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. ... A claw is a curved pointed growth found at the end of a toe or finger, or in arthropods, of the tarsus. ... Leg has multiple meanings: For the limbs of animals that support them above the ground: in the case of the legs of humans, see Human leg; in the case of the legs of horses, see Equine leg; in the case of the legs of crabs, lobsters, and their close relatives... The human upper arm Grays Fig. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Genera  Arctonyx  Melogale  Meles  Mellivora  Taxidea For other uses, see Badger (disambiguation). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... White is a color, (more accurately it contains all the colors of the visible spectrum and is sometimes described as an achromatic color—black is the absence of color) that has high brightness but zero hue. ...

The hair on these skunks is coarse and harsh, lacking the qualities which render the coats of their northern relatives so valuable.

Range

The hog-nosed skunks are the only representatives of the skunk tribe in South America, where varied species occupy a large part of the continent. They appear to form a South American group of mammals which has extended its range northward through Central America, Mexico, and across the border of the United States to central Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. In Mexico they range from sea-level to above 10,000 feet altitude on the mountains of the interior. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Map of Central America Central America is a central region of the Americas. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq. ... Official language(s) None Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq. ... Official language(s) None Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq. ... // Definition Mean sea level (MSL) is the average height of the sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface. ... Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ... Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska (USA) has the largest visible base-to-summit elevation difference on Earth. ...

Habitat

Where their range coincides with that of the common skunks, the local distribution of the two is practically the same. They live along the bottom-lands of watercourses, where vegetation is abundant and the supply of food most plentiful, or in canyons and on rocky mountain slopes. Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. ... Grand Canyon, Arizona canyon, or gorge, is a valley walled by cliffs. ...

For shelter they dig their own burrows, usually in a bank, or under a rock, or the roots of a tree, but do not hesitate to take possession of the deserted burrow sof other animals, or of natural cavities among the rocks. Owing to their strictly nocturnal habits, they are much less frequently seen than the common skunks, even in localities where they are numerous. There is a suggestion that the words Bunny and Burrow have a common origin and meaning, French in origin appearing in Britain afetr the Norman conquest. ... Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, metamorphic rock types of North America. ... Primary and secondary roots in a cotton plant In vascular plants, the root is that organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil (compare with stem). ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... A nocturnal animal is one that sleeps during the day and is active at night - the opposite of the human (diurnal) schedule. ...

Feeding Habits

Although both the spotted skunk and common skunks live mainly in insects, the hog-nosed skunks are even more insectivorous in their feeding habits. The bare snout appears to be used constantly for the purpose of rooting out beetles, grubs, and larvae of various kinds from the ground. Classes & Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely-distributed taxon within the phylum Arthropoda. ... Any organism with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures is an insectivore. ... Suborders Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera Beetles are one of the most diverse groups of insects. ... Grub or GRUB can mean: a slang term for food a beetle larva that resembles a worm a distributed commercial search engine: see Grub (search engine) a number of places in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, such as: Grub, canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes, Switzerland Grub, Germany for the GNU project... A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ...

References

This article incorporates text from the publication Wild Animals of North America, copyright 1918 by the National Geographic Society. This book is in the public domain. Flag of the National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, which is based in the United States, is one of the worlds largest not-for-profit educational and scientific organizations, with a mission to advance the general knowledge of geography and the world among the general public. ... Look up book in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...