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Species inhabit a variety of habitats, though typically grassland, forest, and shrubland. Most mephitids are 20–50 cm (8–20 in) long, plus a 10–40 cm (4–16 in) tail, though the pygmy spotted skunk can be as small as 11 cm (4 in) plus a 7 cm (3 in) tail, and some striped skunks can be up
Skunk species vary in size from about 15.6 to 37 in (40 to 94 cm) long and in weight from about 1.1 lb (0.50 kg) (spotted skunks) to 18 lb (8.2 kg) (hog-nosed skunks). They have moderately elongated bodies with relatively short, well-muscled legs and long front claws for digging.
Hooded skunks are solitary, but they might interact at a feeding ground without showing any signs of aggression. [11] They shelter in a burrow or a nest of thick plant cover during the day and are active at night. Like M. mephitis, for self-defense, they spray volatile components from their anal glands. [12]
The various patterns of activity are thought to be mainly antipredator adaptations, though some could equally well be predatory adaptations. [4] Many predators forage most intensively at night, whereas others are active at midday and see best in full sun. The crepuscular habit may both reduce predation pressure, increasing the crepuscular ...
The spotted skunks are the most similar to the weasels of the skunks. It has a slimmer body, and tail coat thinner and smaller than their close relatives. It reaches a length of 115–345 mm with a tail of 70–120 mm. Its coat has a black background with white spots on the forehead and characteristics of 2-6 white stripes on the back and flanks.
The two major thiols of the striped skunks, (E)-2-butene-1-thiol and 3-methyl-1-butanethiol are the major components in the secretion of the spotted skunks along with a third thiol, 2-phenylethanethiol. [13] Thioacetate derivatives of the three thiols are present in the spray of the striped skunks but not the spotted skunks.
The striped hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus) is a skunk species from Central and South America (from southern Mexico [3] [4] to northern Peru, and in the extreme east of Brazil). This species of skunk is considered a generalist species, because they are able to thrive in, and withstand, disturbed environmental conditions.
The kiwi is a family of nocturnal birds endemic to New Zealand.. While it is difficult to say which came first, nocturnality or diurnality, a hypothesis in evolutionary biology, the nocturnal bottleneck theory, postulates that in the Mesozoic, many ancestors of modern-day mammals evolved nocturnal characteristics in order to avoid contact with the numerous diurnal predators. [3]