Editing Ringtail (section)

==Range and habitat==
The ringtail is commonly found in rocky [[desert]] habitats, where it nests in the hollows of trees or abandoned wooden structures. It has been found throughout the [[Great Basin Desert]], which stretches over several states (Nevada, Utah, California, Idaho, and Oregon) as well as the [[Sonoran Desert]] in Arizona, and the [[Chihuahuan Desert]] in New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico. The ringtail also prefers rocky habitats associated with water, such as the riparian canyons, [[cave]]s, or mine shafts.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvwxAQAAMAAJ&dq=ringtail+also+prefers+rocky+habitats+associated+with+water&pg=PA60 |title=North Bank Habitat Management Area/ACEC, Oregon: Environmental Impact Statement |date=2000 |language=en}}</ref>

In areas with a bountiful source of water, as many as 50&nbsp;ringtails/sq. mile (20/km<sup>2</sup>) have been found. Ranging from {{cvt|50|to|100|acres}}, the territories of male ringtails occasionally intersect with several females.<ref name=ReferenceA>{{cite web |last=Gilbert |first=Bil. |title=Ringtails |magazine=Smithsonian |issue=8 |year=2000 |pages=65–70 |via=[[ProQuest]] |url=http://ProQuest.com |access-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

The ringtail is found in the [[Southwestern United States]] in southern [[Oregon]], [[California]], eastern [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]],  [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], [[Colorado]], [[southern Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Louisiana]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewellen |first1=Greg T. |title=''Bassariscus astutus'' (Ringtail) |url=https://www.wtamu.edu/~rmatlack/Mammalogy/Species_accounts_2003/Bassariscus_astutus_account.htm |website=Mammalogy |publisher=West Texas A&M University |access-date=5 April 2022}}</ref> and [[Texas]]. In Mexico it ranges from the northern desert state of [[Baja California]] to [[Oaxaca]]. Its distribution overlaps that of [[Bassariscus sumichrasti|''B. sumichrasti'']] in the Mexican states of [[Guerrero]], [[Oaxaca]], and [[Veracruz]].<ref name=iucn/>

Fossils assigned to ''B. astutus'' dating back to the early [[Pliocene]] epoch have been found as far north as [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref name=gustafson>{{cite journal |last=Gustafson |first=Eric Paul |date=May 2015 |title=Bassariscusfrom the Early Pliocene of Washington |journal=Northwest Science |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=129–135 |doi=10.3955/046.089.0204 |s2cid=83532330 |issn=0029-344X}}</ref>

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File:Bassariscus.jpg|Two ringtails
File:Bassariscus astutus (ringtail)-11297651994.jpg|Ringtail den
File:Squaw-ringtail-28112.jpg|Ringtail in Phoenix, Arizona
File:Bassaris astuta - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ22400145.tif|''Bassaris astuta'' print from ''Iconographia Zoologica'' (1700–1880)
</gallery>