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#0066 · 🦊 mammals

Striped Skunk

🇳🇱 Gestreept Stinkdier ·Mephitis mephitis

LCleast concern 🦊 Mammals 📍 in the Netherlands (introduced)
Striped Skunk, photo 1 of 9
1/9 © Joe Miller · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis ) is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that is native to southern Canada, the United States and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on account of its wide range and ability to adapt to human-modified environments.

base stats

  • NL sightings 1iNaturalist, research grade
  • worldwide 49,911iNaturalist observations
  • weight 34 gadult, up to
  • threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

  • Spotted 1 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
  • 49,911 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
  • Weighs only about 34 g.
  • Scientifically named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776 (250 years ago).
  • Not originally Dutch: it was introduced to the Netherlands.

fact sheet

English
Striped Skunk
Nederlands
Gestreept Stinkdier
scientific name
Mephitis mephitis
class
Mammalia
order
Carnivora
family
Mephitidae
IUCN Red List
LC · least concern
in NL
introduced
sightings in NL
1
sightings in Europe
1
sightings worldwide
49,911
GBIF records in NL
9
weight
34 g
length
—
lifespan
—
named
1776 by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber

IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.

relatives· Mephitidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 41880, Wikidata Q368495, GBIF 5219380, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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