Recent work has concluded that the western hog-nosed skunk or common hog-nosed skunk (formerly Conepatus mesoleucus) is the same species as the American hog-nosed skunk, and that Conepatus leuconotus is the correct name of the merged populations. This species of hog-nosed skunk is native from the southwestern United States (Arizona to southern Texas) south through Mexico to Nicaragua. In Texas, it is commonly known as the rooter skunk for its habit of rooting and overturning rocks and debris in search of food.