Desert Spotted Skunk

The desert spotted skunk, Spilogale leucoparia, is one of the spotted skunks, a genus of small black skunks in the family Mephitidae patterned with white stripes and blotches. Wikipedia has no article on it alone and covers it in the spotted skunk article, which gives its distribution as the southwestern United States south into northwestern Mexico and says it occurs in deserts and semideserts. Merriam described the species in 1890. The genus as a whole is small in build, with males much larger than females and with considerably longer tails, and spotted skunks prefer to use dens made by gophers, wood rats, pocket gophers, striped skunks or armadillos. They are omnivorous, and like the other skunks of the genus they defend themselves by spraying a strong scent from two glands beside the anus.