A taxonomic revision of the spotted skunks (genus Spilogale). Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 117, article 5

Abstract

"The spotted skunks (genus Spilogale), which were last revised by Arthur H. Howell in 1906, are restudied on the basis of 1974 musuem specimens. Analyses of the distribution, the age, sex, color pattern, and individual variation, the probable prehistory, and the evolutionary trends of spotted skunks are presented. The taxa of the genus are arranged in two species: Spilogale putorius, a large-sized, polytypic species of wide distribution, and Spilogale pygmaea, a monotypic species, small-sized, with a restricted range. The differences between the two species and between the subspecies of Spilogale putorius are mainly those of size and color pattern"--P. 390.