"not typical" when the individuals differed from the type specimen in features that owe their existence to individual variation, and he wrote the same words on the labels of other specimens that had not yet developed mastoidal crests because the animals were not yet adult.

Anyone who examines the specimens that Howell used will do well to bear in mind the circumstances noted above concerning Howell's paper of 1906; otherwise the reasons for Howell's identifications of certain specimens can not be understood.

We have examined and compared the holotypes, and other specimens used by Howell. While doing so we have borne in mind the degree of individual variation well shown by each of several series of specimens (for example, that in six adult males, from the Animas Mountains of New Mexico, recorded by V. Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, 53:339, 1932) and age variation (for example, that shown in specimens of S. interrupta from Douglas County, Kansas). The degree of each of these kinds of variation, although considerable, is not extraordinary. That is to say, the variations are of approximately the same degree as we previously have ascertained to exist in Mephitis mephitis and in Mustela frenata, two species that are in the same family, Mustelidae, as Spilogale. As a result of our comparisons, we conclude, first that the four names mentioned at the beginning of this account all pertain to one species, and second that the three names S. gracilis, S. p. arizonae and S. ambigua, and probably also S. leucoparia, were based on individual variations in one subspecies. S. gracilis has priority and will apply; the other names are properly to be arranged as synonyms of it, as follows:

Some information in support of the above arrangement, along with some other observations on Spilogale, are as follows: The type specimen of Spilogale gracilis bears on the original skin-label in the handwriting of Vernon Bailey, the collector, the statement that the tail was imperfect. The recorded measurements of 400 for total length and 142 for length of tail, therefore, are presumed to be subject to correction. This presumption and the further circumstance that other specimens from Arizona and New Mexico are as large as specimens of comparable age and sex that we have examined from Nevada and Utah of Spilogale gracilis saxatilis Merriam, indicate that S. g. saxatilis differs less from the allegedly smaller S. g. gracilis than was previously thought. Nevertheless, from north to south (for example, from northern Nevada to southern Arizona) there is an increase in extent of white areas at the expense of black areas of the pelage. As a result, the lateralmost white stripe in S. g. saxatilis averages narrower (and often is wanting) than in S. g. gracilis. The absence, or narrowness, of the lateralmost white stripe seems to be the principal basis for recognizing S. g. saxatilis, just as the tendency to narrow rostrum in Coloradan specimens seems to be the principal basis for recognizing Spilogale gracilis tenuis A. H. Howell. Both S. g. saxatilis and S. g. tenuis are "poorly" differentiated from S. g. gracilis and from each other.

The holotype of Spilogale ambigua Mearns is slightly smaller than other adult males of comparable age, and the braincase, relative to its width, is slightly deeper than in the average adult male. These variations, nevertheless, are within the range of individual variation, as also are those characterizing the holotype of Spilogale phenax arizonae Mearns. The latter specimen is an adult male, with much inflated mastoidal bullae, nearly straight dorsal profile on the skull, relatively shallow braincase, and only slightly worn teeth.

The holotype of Spilogale leucoparia Merriam, as pointed out above, is an extreme example of the extensiveness of the white areas of the pelage at the expense of the black areas. This feature occurs more often in the southwestern desert areas of the United States than it does farther north. In addition to the extensiveness of the white markings, the other two characters allegedly distinctive of S. leucoparia are broad and much flattened braincase and great degree of inflation of the mastoidal bullae. Although these three mentioned features do distinguish S. leucoparia from S. indianola to the eastward, they seem not to set S. leucoparia apart from S. gracilis to the westward. For example, in Arizona some specimens are extensively white and some others have the braincase flattened and the mastoidal bullae much inflated. V. Bailey (N. Amer. Fauna, 53:339, 1932) refers to a specimen (♂, No. 147252 USBS) from the head of the Rio Mimbres in New Mexico in which, as our comparisons show, the inflation of the mastoidal bullae exceeds that of any Texan specimen of S. leucoparia, the holotype included. Also, at the type locality of S. leucoparia, subadult male No. 188467 USNM and adult male No. 188468 USNM are narrower across the mastoidal region than is the holotype. In summary and review, specimens from the eastern part of the range heretofore ascribed to S. leucoparia nearly all have much inflated mastoidal bullae whereas less than half of the specimens of Spilogale from western New Mexico and Arizona have these bullae as greatly inflated; but, in No. 147252 from the head of the Rio Mimbres of New Mexico the inflation of the bullae is more extreme than in any specimen that we know of that has been referred to S. leucoparia.

If intergradation occurs between Spilogale gracilis gracilis and Spilogale indianola and between one or both of these kinds on the one hand and Spilogale interrupta on the other hand, central Texas would be a logical place to collect intergrades. We suppose that such intergradation will be found to occur and that eventually Spilogale putorius will be the specific name to apply to all of the Recent subspecies of spotted skunks. Until proof of such intergradation is forthcoming we employ current nomenclature.

Spilogale gracilis microdon A. H. Howell

A. H. Howell (N. Amer. Fauna, 26:31, November 24, 1906) listed as Spilogale arizonae martirensis one specimen (♀ sad.-yg., 145886 USBS) from Comondú, which is the type locality of S. microdon. Our examination of ♀ No. 145886 convinces us that it is referable to S. microdon.

Examination of the materials used by Howell (op. cit.) reveals that there is an increase in size of animal and its skull from within the geographic range of S. g. martirensis southward to Cape St. Lucas which is the type locality of S. lucasana. Specimens of S. microdon, which so far has been recorded only from Comondú, the type locality, are, as would be expected, intermediate in size between S. g. martirensis and S. lucasana. The differential characters of these three named kinds of Spilogale are principally those of size, and we can see no characters judged to be of more than subspecific worth. Consequently the named kinds should stand as:

Spilogale gracilis microrhina Hall

When Hall (Jour. Mamm., 7:53, February 15, 1926) named as new Spilogale phenax microrhina, he did not mention specimens previously recorded by A. H. Howell