The western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis) can be found west of the Continental Divide from southern British Columbia to Central America, as well as in some parts of Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and western Texas. Its black-and-white color is a warning against harming this small creature, as its defense mechanism is the emission of noxious odors from its well-developed scent glands. Both are relatively small and slender. Eastward, its range borders that of the eastern spotted skunk … I was wondering the same thing. According to my only mammal field guide, the main species is the Eastern Spotted Skunk, and the western version just got mentioned in passing as "The closely related and similarly colored Western Spotted Skunk, found in the western half of the US, is considered a subspecies by some taxonomists." In skunk: Natural history …the spring, except in the Western spotted skunk (S. gracilis), which breeds in the autumn but undergoes a period of delayed implantation lasting about 150 days.Eastern spotted skunks (S. putorius) breed at the same time of year as other skunks, which results in both species’ producing litters at the…Read More Taxonomy and etymology. The western spotted skunk looks much like the eastern spotted skunk except that the white areas are more extensive. The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) is a small, relatively slender skunk found in North America, throughout the eastern United States and in small areas of Canada and Mexico.. Western spotted skunks have lived for almost ten years in captivity. The Eastern spotted skunks is a small, relatively slender skunk with a body shape like a weasel. This small skunk is more weasel-like in body shape than the more familiar striped skunk.The eastern spotted skunk has four stripes on its back which are broken in pattern, giving it a "spotted" appearance. They are black with a white spot on their forehead and in front of each ear. The distinctive black and white pattern of spots and stripes and much smaller size of the Western Spotted Skunk distinguish them from the more common Stripped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis), which have two solid white stripes along the side of the body and are nearly twice as large.The color pattern resembles that of the Eastern Spotted Skunk, but the white markings are more extensive. According to my only mammal field guide, the main species is the Eastern Spotted Skunk, and the western version just got mentioned in passing as "The closely related and similarly colored Western Spotted Skunk, found in the western half of the US, is considered a subspecies by some taxonomists." I was wondering the same thing. The western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis) was first described by Clinton Hart Merriam in 1890; its specific name, gracilis, is derived from the Latin for "slender".