. The quadrupeds of North America [microform]. Mammals; Rodentia; Mammifères; Rongeurs. ft! i â¢â '. 318 COMMON AMERICAN SKUNK which is naked ⢠eyes, small; ears, short, broad and roundod, clothfd with hair on both surlaces; whiskers, lew and weak, extending a little beyond the eyes; ieet, rather !)road, and covered with hair coneealinjr the nails, which on the i'on'-leet are robust, curved, cotnpressed, and acute; palms, naked. The trunk of the tail is nearly half as lo'n« as the body. Hair on the tail, very long and bushy, containing from with- in an inch of the root to the extremity, no
. The quadrupeds of North America [microform]. Mammals; Rodentia; Mammifères; Rongeurs. ft! i â¢â '. 318 COMMON AMERICAN SKUNK which is naked ⢠eyes, small; ears, short, broad and roundod, clothfd with hair on both surlaces; whiskers, lew and weak, extending a little beyond the eyes; ieet, rather !)road, and covered with hair coneealinjr the nails, which on the i'on'-leet are robust, curved, cotnpressed, and acute; palms, naked. The trunk of the tail is nearly half as lo'n« as the body. Hair on the tail, very long and bushy, containing from with- in an inch of the root to the extremity, no mixture of the finer fur. The glands are situated on either side of the rectum: the ducts are al)out an inch in length, and are of a somewhat pyriform shape. The inner mem- brane is corrugated; the principal portion of the glands is a muscular tendinous substance. The sac is capable of containing about three drachms. When the tail is erected for the purpose of ejecting the nau- seous fluid, the open orifices of the ducts are percei)til)le on a black disk surrounding the anus. The exit from the duct at the aims when dis- tcnc'ed will admit a crow-quill. COLOUR. This species varies so much in colour that there is difficulty in finding two specimens alike ; we have given a representation on our plate of the colour which is most common in the Middle States, and which Dr Harlan described as Mephitis Americana, our specimen only differing from his in having a longitudinal stripe on the Ibreliead. The under fur on all those portions of the body which are dark colour- ed, IS dark brown ; in those parts which are ligiit coloured, it is white from the roots. These under colours, however, are concealed by a ^hick coat of longer, coarser hairs, which are smooth and glossy. There is a narrow white stripe commencing on the nose and running to a point on the top of the head; a patch of white, of about two inches m length, and of the same breadth, commences on the occiput and co
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Keywords: ., bookauthorau, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectmammals
