Pygmy spotted skunk
The dwarf spotted skunk ( Spilogale pygmaea ) is a species in the family of skunks and is endemic in Mexico, on the Pacific coast of Nayarit and Chiapas before.
Features
This Skunk reaches a head-body length of 12 to 35 cm, which must be added a 7 to 12 cm long tail comes. The basic color of the fur is black. At the top there are white patterns, and the body has two to six white stripes, which are arranged in a ring. Also, the tail tends to white hair. At the anus are the typical skunk scent glands.
Dissemination
The dwarf spotted skunk has an elongated distribution area on the Mexican Pacific coast, which extends between the states of Nayarit and Chiapas. As Habitat mostly rocky areas are chosen with few trees and shrubs. Rarely do we see the way in dense forests and wetlands.
Way of life
This skunk is omnivorous but feeds more than others Skunks of meat. Typical prey are insects and small mammals, birds and reptiles. Furthermore, fruits and berries are eaten.
Several specimens of the dwarf spotted skunks spend the winter together in burrows, but they do not hibernate.
Mating occurs typically between September and October. Due to a delayed implantation of the actual pregnancy begins only in the spring. Females are pregnant for about a month and then 3-6 boy usually are born (rarely up to 9). The cubs are blind and only open your eyes after a month. They are suckled for about two months. In autumn, the young are fully grown, they spend the next winter even with her mother.
System
Stinkdachse ( Mydaus )
Streifenskunks ( Mephitis )
Oriental small- Skunk ( Spilogale putorius )
Southern blot Skunk ( Spilogale angustifrons )
Dwarf spotted skunk ( Spilogale pygmaea )
Western blot Skunk ( Spilogale gracilis )
White trunk Skunks ( Conepatus )
The dwarf spotted skunk is classified as a separate species within the genus of the spot Skunks ( Spilogale ), which consists of four types. The first scientific description comes from Oldfield Thomas from 1898 on the basis of an individual from Rosario, Sinaloa State, Mexico. Chance of the species as part of the Eastern spot Skunk ( Spilogale putorius ) was considered.
Within the spot Skunks the phylogenetic position of the dwarf spotted skunks as well as the Western blot Skunks is not been definitively explained, both could be the sister species of a taxon from the Southern and the Eastern Skunk spot. The stain Skunks In their entirety, the sister group of the Streifenskunks ( Mephitis ); within the spot Skunks the radiation took place at the well-known today four types about 3 million years ago, making this genus is the youngest within the Skunks.
Within the species are today with the nominate P. p. a distinction intermedia three subspecies pygmaea and S. australis and S. a.
Threats and conservation
The species is considered useful because they harmful animals such as insects and rodents destroyed. Sometimes they are caught in traps because of the fur. The main threat to the dwarf spotted skunk is the destruction of the habitat.
The dwarf spotted skunk is from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ) due to the sharp decline in stocks as a single species of the genus listed as endangered ( "vulnerable "). It is assumed that the populations within the last three generation or the last 15 years fell by more than 30 %. The declines go there mainly due to the loss of habitat for the species that are located in areas of high human population growth and conversions for tourism. Despite the adaptability of the species mainly make pets like dogs and cats is a growing threat in the area of human settlements dar.