Record of skunk, Conepatus (Carnivora: Mephitidae) for Pleistocene-Holocene of northern South America

摘要

Conepatus, represented by five extant species is widely distributed in the Americas today ranging from the southern United States to southern Argentina and Chile. Despite this broad distribution, the genus is poorly represented in the fossil record of northern South America. In this article, we report two new Pleistocene-Holocene specimens of Conepatus (IVIC-P-2754 and ORS-20 262) from Venezuela Guacharo Cave and El Breal de Orocual in Monagas State. IVIC-P-2754 is represented by cranial and post-cranial material of C. semistriatus and ORS-20 262 is a fragment of mandible that can only be identified as cf. Conepatus. Conepatus has probably been present in eastern Venezuela since the Pleistocene, so although its discovery was expected, its presence in a cave deposit is unusual.