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Mephitidae

File:Mephitidae.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Mephitidae

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Also known as skunk family

Mephitidae is a family of mammals comprising the skunks and stink badgers. They are noted for the great development of their anal scent glands, which they use to deter predators. Skunks were formerly classified as a subfamily of the Mustelidae (the weasel family); however, in the 1990s, genetic evidence caused skunks to be treated as a separate family. Similarly, the stink badgers had been classified with badgers, but genetic evidence shows they share a more recent common ancestor with skunks, so they are now included in the skunk family. A 2017 study using retroposon markers indicated that th

OverviewAI-generated

Mephitidae, commonly known as skunks, is a family of mammals within the order Carnivora. The taxon belongs to the class Mammalia, phylum Chordata, and kingdom Animalia. It is a child of the parent taxa Musteloidea and Caniformia. The family was established by Bonaparte in 1845 and is recognized under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

Records of the family are held by institutions including UF, TTU, SDSM, and UCM. Specimens originate from the United States, Mexico, and El Salvador. Scientific literature includes 555 PubMed entries, and the group is referenced by 599 other encyclopedia articles. Occurrence data contains 64,023 records, with 45 iDigBio records and six associated media items. The skunk emoji 🦨 represents the taxon.

Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, PubMed, Gbif Occ, Encyclopedia of Life, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Mephitidae

FAMILY

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassMammalia
  4. OrderCarnivora
  5. FamilyMephitidae
Observations recorded64,023

臭鼬科（学名：Mephitidae）是食肉目下的一个科。

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
45
With media
6
Family
Mephitidae
Collections
UF, TTU, SDSM, UCM
Recorded in
United States, Mexico, El Salvador
iDigBio →

Research

555 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Caniformia
Image
Striped skunk, close (21303507080).jpg
Show 8 more facts
Commons category
Mephitidae
taxon name
Mephitidae
taxon rank
family
topic's main category
Category:Mephitidae
Code of nomenclature
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
taxon common name
skunk
Unicode character
🦨
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

2 sections
Contents
  • Genera
  • References

Mephitidae is a family of mammals comprising the skunks and stink badgers. They are noted for the great development of their anal scent glands, which they use to deter predators. Skunks were formerly classified as a subfamily of the Mustelidae (the weasel family); however, in the 1990s, genetic evidence caused skunks to be treated as a separate family. Similarly, the stink badgers had been classified with badgers, but genetic evidence shows they share a more recent common ancestor with skunks, so they are now included in the skunk family. A 2017 study using retroposon markers indicated that they are most closely related to the Ailuridae (red pandas and allies) and Procyonidae (raccoons and allies).

There are sixteen extant species of mephitids in four genera: Conepatus (hog-nosed skunks, four species); Mephitis (the hooded and striped skunks, two species); Mydaus (stink badgers, two species); and Spilogale (spotted skunks, eight species). The two stink badgers in the genus Mydaus inhabit Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines; the other members of the family inhabit the Americas, ranging from Canada to central South America. All other mephitids are extinct, known through fossils, including those from Eurasia.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mephitidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (18)

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