Conepatus chinga

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CARNIVORA	MEPHITIDAE

Scientific Name:

Conepatus chinga

Species Authority:

(Molina, 1782)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Molina's Hog-nosed Skunk
Spanish	–	Zorrino Común

Taxonomic Notes:

While many authors have traditionally considered skunks a subfamily (Mephitinae) within Mustelidae, recent molecular evidence indicates that skunks do not lie within the mustelid group and should be recognized as a single family, Mephitidae (Wozencraft 2005).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2008
Assessor/s:	Emmons, L. & Helgen, K.
Reviewer/s:	Duckworth, J.W. (Small Carnivore Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
Contributor/s:
Justification: This species is listed as Least Concern as the species is widespread in a region of relatively intact habitat, and although subject to hunting and habitat loss is not believed to be declining fast enough to warrant listing in a higher category of threat.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The species is found in mid to southern South America. It occurs from southern Peru through Bolivia south to Uruguay, western Paraguay, and central Chile into Argentina where it is found as far south as Neuquén province (Redford and Eisenberg, 1992). The species has been also observed in in different localities in South Brazil: São Paulo (De Vivo and Gregorin, 2001); at south São Paulo and Paraná (Cáceres, 2004); at eastern Paraná and eastern Santa Catarina (Cimardi, 1996).
Countries:	Native: Argentina; Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Brazil; Chile; Paraguay; Peru; Uruguay
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is locally common. Density value reported for Chile is 5 individuals/km² (Cofré et al., 1999).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Little is known about Conepatus chinga ecology. It seems to forage solitarily during the night in open savannas and in arid and shrubby areas (Cabrera and Yepes, 1960; Mares et al., 1996), capturing arthropods (mainly beetles and arachnids) and occasionally small mammals and preying on eggs and fledling birds (Cabrera and Yepes, 1960; Redford and Eisenberg, 1992; Mares et al. 1996). Hog-nosed skunks are morphologically (Howard and Marsh, 1982) and behaviorally (Donadio et al. 2001) adapted to feeding on ground and underground fauna, particularly invertebrates. During rest periods, it perfers the seclusion offered by shrub forests and rocky slope areas (Donadio et al. 2001).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Little is known about Conepatus chinga ecology. It seems to forage solitarily during the night in open savannas and in arid and shrubby areas (Cabrera and Yepes, 1960; Mares et al., 1996), capturing arthropods (mainly beetles and arachnids) and occasionally small mammals and preying on eggs and fledling birds (Cabrera and Yepes, 1960; Redford and Eisenberg, 1992; Mares et al. 1996). Hog-nosed skunks are morphologically (Howard and Marsh, 1982) and behaviorally (Donadio et al. 2001) adapted to feeding on ground and underground fauna, particularly invertebrates. During rest periods, it perfers the seclusion offered by shrub forests and rocky slope areas (Donadio et al. 2001).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Skunks were heavily hunted for their fur in Argentina during the 1970s and early 1980s (Gruss and Waller 1988). Additionally extensive areas of skunk habitat, including the Patagonian steppe, have been severely degraded due to overgrazing and soil erosion by livestock (primarily sheep) and feral, exotic species (Dinerstein et al. 1995; Novaro et al. 2000).

Major Threat(s):

Skunks were heavily hunted for their fur in Argentina during the 1970s and early 1980s (Gruss and Waller 1988). Additionally extensive areas of skunk habitat, including the Patagonian steppe, have been severely degraded due to overgrazing and soil erosion by livestock (primarily sheep) and feral, exotic species (Dinerstein et al. 1995; Novaro et al. 2000).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Suggested actions needed to revert the decline of native species living in the Patagonian steppe include: prevent new introductions; create protected areas in the Patagonian steppe where livestock are excluded and the ecological role of native large fauna is restored; study other consequences of the introduction of exotic species and the ecological extinction of native ones (Novaro et al., 2000). It is also considered necessary to include species of Conepatus in CITES Appndix II in order to obtain data on the trade in the different species, to estimate the exploitation level, and to enforce a better control of the exports, and to avoid that one of the species exported under the name of any of the other species (IUCN-SSC, 1992).

Conservation Actions:

Suggested actions needed to revert the decline of native species living in the Patagonian steppe include: prevent new introductions; create protected areas in the Patagonian steppe where livestock are excluded and the ecological role of native large fauna is restored; study other consequences of the introduction of exotic species and the ecological extinction of native ones (Novaro et al., 2000). It is also considered necessary to include species of Conepatus in CITES Appndix II in order to obtain data on the trade in the different species, to estimate the exploitation level, and to enforce a better control of the exports, and to avoid that one of the species exported under the name of any of the other species (IUCN-SSC, 1992).

Citation:	Emmons, L. & Helgen, K. 2008. Conepatus chinga. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.
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