mephitis

[ muh-fahy-tis ]

/ məˈfaɪ tɪs /

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noun

(in nontechnical use) a noxious or pestilential exhalation from the earth, as poison gas.

any noisome or poisonous stench.

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Origin of mephitis

1700–10; <Latin mephītis, mefītis; compare Oscan Mefit(eí) the goddess of such exhalations

"Mephitis," I gasped, and instantly put several feet more between us.
Little Brothers of the Air|Olive Thorne Miller
Visher (1914:91), however, reported that Spilogale was much commoner than Mephitis in the early part of the century.
Mammals of Northwestern South Dakota|Kenneth W. Andersen
The small mandibular ramus of a musteline referred by Dr. Roth to Mephitis suffocans, does not pertain to this genus and species.
Through the Heart of Patagonia|H. Hesketh Prichard
Soon a woman ka-wate (mephitis) came along with a vase and a gourd for water.
Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest|Katharine Berry Judson

Mephitis is, however, purely American wherever he comes from.
Belford's Magazine, Vol II, No. 10, March 1889|Various