Conepatus
4 species
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.
The eastern hog-nosed skunk is found only in Southern Texas, Veracruz, Mexico, and Arizona The Molina hog-nosed skunk, also known as the Andean hog-nosed skunk (C. chinga), is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk, also known as the Patagonian hog-nosed skunk (C. humboldtii) finds its habitat in the open grassy areas in the Patagonian regions of Chile and Argentina. The western hog-nosed skunk (C. mesoleucus) is found in, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Sierra Guadalupe, Coahuila, Colima, Honduras, Sonora, and Nicaragua. The striped hog-nosed skunk, C. semistriatus, is found in Veracruz, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
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.
For their protection hog-nosed skunks create their own burrows, generally within a bank, or beneath a rock, or the roots of a tree, but do not hesitate to take possession of the deserted burrows of other animals, or of natural cavities among the rocks. Owing to their strictly nocturnal habits, they are generally much less frequently seen than the common skunks, even in localities where they are numerous. Sightings are recorded from brush habitat and semi-open grasslands. Habitats may also include rocky terrain and stream beds in desert-scrub and mesquite grassland.
Infrequent sightings of the American hog-nosed skunk raise concerns over its conservation status.
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.
The eastern hog-nosed skunk is found only in Southern Texas, Veracruz, Mexico, and Arizona The Molina hog-nosed skunk, also known as the Andean hog-nosed skunk (C. chinga), is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk, also known as the Patagonian hog-nosed skunk (C. humboldtii) finds its habitat in the open grassy areas in the Patagonian regions of Chile and Argentina. The western hog-nosed skunk (C. mesoleucus) is found in, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Sierra Guadalupe, Coahuila, Colima, Honduras, Sonora, and Nicaragua. The striped hog-nosed skunk, C. semistriatus, is found in Veracruz, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
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.
For their protection hog-nosed skunks create their own burrows, generally within a bank, or beneath a rock, or the roots of a tree, but do not hesitate to take possession of the deserted burrows of other animals, or of natural cavities among the rocks. Owing to their strictly nocturnal habits, they are generally much less frequently seen than the common skunks, even in localities where they are numerous. Sightings are recorded from brush habitat and semi-open grasslands. Habitats may also include rocky terrain and stream beds in desert-scrub and mesquite grassland.
Infrequent sightings of the American hog-nosed skunk raise concerns over its conservation status.
