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The researchers also found that most of the spotted skunk species could be divided into two groups, or clades, three of which hailed from the east and three from the west.

They include the little brown bat, the plains spotted skunk, the Illinois chorus frog, the golden-winged warbler, Blanding’s turtle, the Mammoth Springs crayfish, two freshwater mussels and a plant called Hall’s bulrush.

Of mammals, Elliot’s short-tailed shrew, the northern long-eared bat, Franklin’s ground squirrel and the spotted skunk benefit.

Northern flying squirrels, mice, birds, chipmunks, spotted skunks, short-tailed weasels, Douglas squirrel, snowshoe hare.

Instead, their cameras captured another rarely seen creature - the spotted skunk, a shy inhabitant of the Upstate’s hills.