taxonID	type	description	language	source
03FF87CBFFB77C7088BFFE432DA2FB64.taxon	description	Conepatus leuconotus can be distinguished from other skunks by the lack of a white spot or medial stripe between the eyes. In addition to the extended nose, the species can be identified by a single, wide white stripe that begins on the forehead and extends the length of the back and tail (Dragoo and Sheffield 2009). Within Texas, its range consists of C. leuconotus leuconotus in southern, western, and central Texas and a disparate, but presumed extinct, subspecies, C. leuconotus telmalestes, in southeastern Texas (Dragoo et al. 2003; Schmidly and Bradley 2016). Five county records, including a range extension for the species, and three nonvouchered photographic records are reported here. A record from Briscoe County in 2009 extends the range of C. l. leuconotus by approximately 100 km north of its known distribution in the Texas Panhandle (Fig. 1). A record from Garza County also recently was reported (Halsey et al. 2018). Herein are other specimens examined from Bell, Edwards, Hood, and San Saba counties, all within the currently known distribution. Nonvouchered photographic records from iNaturalist in Blanco, Kendall, and Kinney counties are within the currently known distribution of the species. The state of Texas lists C. leuconotus as a species of special conservation need but categorizes it as S 4 (TPWD 2020). The category S 4 is defined as “ Apparently Secure: Uncommon but not rare; some cause for long-term concern due to declines or other factors. ” The consistent appearance of individuals killed by vehicles and on game cameras suggests that it is widely distributed and populations appear stable. Specimens examined (7). — Bell County (1): 29 April 2014 (ASNHC 20031). Briscoe County (1): male, 4 June 2009, 9.2 km north, 11.6 km west of Silverton on TX HWY 207 (34.554221, - 101.435619; ASNHC 16138). Edwards County (3): male, 24 October 1993, 6 km south of Edwards-Sutton county line on Route 277 (30.220729, - 100.666578; ASNHC 12930); female, 16 March 2008, 61 km northeast of Del Rio on TX HWY 377 (29.793503, - 100.627954; ASNHC 13538); male, 6 February 2015, north of Val Verde County line on TX HWY 277 (30.122737, - 100.694652; ASNHC 17833). Hood County (1): 3 June 2011 (ASNHC 14849). San Saba County (1): 23 August 2012 (ASNHC 16470). NonVoucHered pHotograpHic records (19). — Blanco County (12): 14 September 2016 (4109458); 20 March 2017 (5411795); 13 November 2017 (8797691); 28 November 2018 (18699497); 12 February 2019 (21539430); 2 December 2020 (66049785); 08 December 2020 (66323291); 16 December 2020 (66716938); 22 December 2020 (66922450); 23 December 2020 (66967526); 04 February 2021 (69042216); 14 March 2021 (71300046). Kendall County (3): 18 October 2014 (1025909); 23 September 2019 (33313743); 3 October 2019 (48581808). Kinney County (4): 2 October 2015 (2040687); 20 April 2017 (5873511); 12 October 2019 (34282008); 28 July 2020 (56424839).	en	Jefferson, Kamren P., Garcia, S. Leigh Ann, Krejsa, Dianna M., Perkins, J. Clint, Stevens, Skyler, Matlack, Raymond S., Dowler, Robert C. (2022): Noteworthy Records, Range Extensions, And Conservation Status Of Skunk Species In Texas. Occasional Papers of the Museum 384: 1-16, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15748660
03FF87CBFFB77C768BD8FA9E2DB2FAD0.taxon	description	Hooded Skunk MepHitis macroura closely resembles M. mepHi - tis but can be identified by its longer, softer fur and a distinct ruff of longer hair on the upper neck, as well as by its striping pattern. This skunk species is quite variable with three different color patterns: upperparts black with two narrow, lateral white stripes; upperparts mostly white, with a broad white band extending from between the eyes to the tail, and sides black; an intermediate phase with a single broad white band on the back and two narrow lateral white stripes. All three patterns share a thin, medial white stripe between the eyes (Ten Hwang and Larivière 2001; Schmidly and Bradley 2016). MepHitis macroura occurs from Costa Rica north to the southwestern United States. In Texas, records of the subspecies, M. macroura milleri, are known only from the Trans-Pecos region (Schmidly and Bradley 2016). The species is considered rare in Texas with a specimen last collected in 1999 (Yancey et al. 2017), leading some mammalogists to believe that M. mac - roura may be extirpated in Texas (Schmidly and Bradley 2016). We report on five recent observations from camera-trap data that document M. macroura in Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas, within the past ten years. A camera-trap study in Big Bend National Park (Stevens 2017) revealed two records in 2014 (Fig. 2). A third image from a camera-trap survey on Mount Emory was taken in April 2019 (L. Ammerman, pers. comm.). Two images, one from February 2021 (not shown) and a second from June 2021 (Fig. 2) show M. macroura at Pine Canyon Spring. Although there are no iNaturalist observations of M. macroura in Texas, several are documented in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. Four confirmed iNaturalist observations of M. macroura are documented within 50 km of the border with Texas in the last 10 years (11 September 2011 – 6 November 2019), supporting the liklihood of occupancy of the Hooded Skunk in Texas. Because of its constrained distribution in Texas, M. macroura is listed as an S 1 S 2 species of greatest conservation need, but has a global conservation status of G 5 (TPWD 2020). S 1 S 2 indicates “ critically imperiled or imperiled ” and G 5 indicates “ secure ”. MepHitis macroura should be considered rare in Texas, and further studies that consistently monitor vehicle-killed skunks or use camera-traps may provide a better assessment of the status of this species in the state. NonVoucHered pHotograpHic records (5). — Brewster County, Big Bend National Park (5): 7 September 2014, Juniper Canyon; 13 October 2014, Mule Ears; 27 April 2019, Mount Emory; 5 February 2021, Pine Canyon Spring; 13 June 2021, Pine Canyon Spring.	en	Jefferson, Kamren P., Garcia, S. Leigh Ann, Krejsa, Dianna M., Perkins, J. Clint, Stevens, Skyler, Matlack, Raymond S., Dowler, Robert C. (2022): Noteworthy Records, Range Extensions, And Conservation Status Of Skunk Species In Texas. Occasional Papers of the Museum 384: 1-16, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15748660
03FF87CBFFB17C748BE5FA132BECFB87.taxon	description	NonVoucHered pHotograpHic records (41). — Bandera County (2): 5 February 2019 (20131261); 4 June 2020 (48449557). Blanco County (18): 13 June 2009 (7532057); 3 January 2010 (9919814); 1 November 2011 (7457463); 13 August 2013 (364814); 27 January 2014 (513552); 5 May 2014 (662967); 11 November 2014 (1068625); 30 January 2015 (1202350); 2 February 2015 (1208175); 22 June 2016 (3501441); 16 June 2016 (7015996); 16 December 2016 (7015996); 10 May 2018 (12341382); 5 December 2018 (18846423); 17 December 2019 (37018434); 27 March 2020 (40804871); 25 May 2020 (47317064); 13 November 2020 (64811730); 19 December 2020 (66967656). Dawson County (1): 26 September 2020 (60858091). Foard County (9): 24 January 2016 (72920506); 1 March 2016 (67839090); 28 October 2017 (66598183); 29 October 2017 (66598190); 7 November 2017 (66598240); 23 November 2017 (66556365); 27 November 2017 (66553865); 2 December 2017 (66553873); 14 December 2017 (66553883). Goliad County (1): 16 February 2020 (38715761). Karnes County (1): 7 July 2020 (52324657). Kent County (2): 20 February 2018 (10221853); 6 March 2019 (21013966). Shackelford County (2): 19 October 2019 (34586391); 5 December 2020 (67767386). Shelby County (1): 1 May 2014 (663085). Stonewall County (2): 25 May 2017 (6363850); 13 March 2020 (41083160). Willacy County (1): 21 March 2020 (40452035). Zavala County (1): 4 December 2019 (36373326).	en	Jefferson, Kamren P., Garcia, S. Leigh Ann, Krejsa, Dianna M., Perkins, J. Clint, Stevens, Skyler, Matlack, Raymond S., Dowler, Robert C. (2022): Noteworthy Records, Range Extensions, And Conservation Status Of Skunk Species In Texas. Occasional Papers of the Museum 384: 1-16, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15748660
03FF87CBFFB37C7A8BEDFBF92A71FAF1.taxon	description	Spotted skunks are distinguished from other mephitids by their smaller, weasel-like body and the presence of a large white spot on the forehead and multiple white stripes on the dorsum and sides of the body (Verts et al. 2001; Schmidly and Bradley 2016). One of the western forms of spotted skunk, Spilogale leucoparia, occurs in Texas from the southern part of the panhandle into southern Texas and from central Texas west into the Trans-Pecos region (Schmidly and Bradley 2016). Spilogale gracilis (= S. leucoparia) is listed as a Texas species of greatest conservation need, but at an S 5 level of “ Secure ” (TPWD 2020). A nonvouchered photographic record from Mills County, a specimen examined from Burnet County, and a newly recorded specimen examined in Travis County (previously nonvouchered photographic record, Morgan and Mueller 2014) represent eastern range extensions for the species (Fig. 3). Specimens examined from Hays, Sutton, and Upton counties are included in the distribution for the species. Molecular analysis of four of the specimens examined confirmed that these were S. leucoparia. These records as well as others in the past 15 years (Dowler et al 2008; Morgan and Mueller 2014; Garcia et al. 2016) suggest a shift eastward in the range of S. leucoparia in Texas (Fig. 3). In these areas, future research should determine if both spotted skunk species are maintaining sympatric distributions or whether S. leucoparia is locally displacing S. interrupta. Specimens examined (7). — Burnet County (1): male, 3 February 2019, Marble Falls, 400 3 rd Street (30.569164, - 98.272018; ASNHC 20032, GB accession number MZ 558542). Hays County (2): 13 June 2014 (ASNHC 18895); male, 4 August 2019, San Marcos, TX RR 32, ~ 1.5 km west of junction with TX RR 12 (29.939275, - 98.106862; ASNHC 20033, GB accession number MZ 558543). Sterling County (1): male, 17 July 2020 (ASNHC 20267). Sutton County (1): male, 11 April 2016, 7.7 km north of Sonora on HWY 277 (30.636528, - 100.643427; ASNHC 19173, GB accession number MZ 558541). Travis County (1): 12 June 2014 (ASNHC 18947, GB accession number MZ 547038). Upton County (1): 25 August 2015 (ASNHC 20034). NonVoucHered pHotograpHic records (5). — Edwards County (1): 13 November 2017 (68236476). Glasscock County (1): 22 August 2017 (7623291). McCulloch County (1): 29 August 2017 (7714786). Mills County (1): 1 May 2020 (49959626). Reagan County (1): 2 July 2016 (3620247).	en	Jefferson, Kamren P., Garcia, S. Leigh Ann, Krejsa, Dianna M., Perkins, J. Clint, Stevens, Skyler, Matlack, Raymond S., Dowler, Robert C. (2022): Noteworthy Records, Range Extensions, And Conservation Status Of Skunk Species In Texas. Occasional Papers of the Museum 384: 1-16, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15748660
03FF87CBFFBD7C7A8947FAF32DB7F887.taxon	description	Specimens examined (5). — Austin County (2): male, 29 June 2020 (ASNHC 20076); female, 29 June 2020 (ASNHC 20266). Hood County (1): 10 October 2019 (ASNHC 20024). Parker County (1): male, 06 April 2020, ca. 3.5 km N Cresson on US 377 (32.560995, - 97.605203 ASNHC 20854). Wilbarger County (1): 14 March 2016, Vernon, 1.1 km east of Main Street on HWY 70 (34.159324, - 99.271481; ASK 11913; GB accession number MG 753585.1). Records reported in PerrY et al. 2021 (13). — Eastland County (5): 05 October 2017. Shackelford County (1): 16 – 31 October 2016. Stonewall County (2): 10 August 2018; 24 September 2018. Throckmorton County (5): 08 August 2018 (4 female, 1 male).	en	Jefferson, Kamren P., Garcia, S. Leigh Ann, Krejsa, Dianna M., Perkins, J. Clint, Stevens, Skyler, Matlack, Raymond S., Dowler, Robert C. (2022): Noteworthy Records, Range Extensions, And Conservation Status Of Skunk Species In Texas. Occasional Papers of the Museum 384: 1-16, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15748660
