26 NEW-YORK FAUNA. 



GENUS PROCYON. Storr. 



Head short, triangular, with a fox-like appearance. Muzzle tapering, and projecting 

 considerably beyond the mouth. Ears small. Tail long, bushy, not prehensile. Stand 

 on the heel of the hinder leg, but walk on the toes. Mamma, six, ventral. Feel five-toed, 

 with large and strong nails. A glandular pouch on each side of the vent. Incisors, £ ; 

 canines, § ; molars, \% = 40. Nocturnal, 



THE RACCOON. 



Procton lotor. 



plate vi. fig. 2. — (state collection.) 



Linneus, Beskrifnung pa ctt americanst djur. Vetensk. Acad. Handl. 1747, p. 277. 

 Ursus americanus, Cauda elongata. Lin. Analect. Transalp. Tom. 2, p. 35. 

 Ursus lotor. Lin. ed. 12, p. 35. Roloff, Description d'un Quadrupede d'Amerique. Hist, de Acad, de Berlin, 1750, 



p. 149. Schultze, 'Bemerkungen iiber den waschharen. Hamburg, 1787. 

 Raccoon Bear. Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 1, p. 69. 



Procyon lotor. Harlan, Fauna, p. 54. Godman, Am. Nat. Hist. Vol. 1, p. 163, (figure.) 

 P. id. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 1, p. 36. 



The Raccoon. Emmons, Mass. Report, 1840, p. 25. 



Characteristics. Brownish ; a broad black patch across the eyes. Tail bushy, and ringed 

 with black and grey. Total length 2 to 3 feet. 



Description. Body rather low on the legs, and covered with long bushy hair. Ears erect, 

 with rounded tips. Head rounded, terminating in a pointed muzzle. Feet with five toes, 

 furnished with sharp curved claws. Soles with five stout tubercles. Pupils round. Female 

 larger than the male.- Hair on the legs and feet short. 



Color varies somewhat with age, sex and season. In the very fine specimen in the State 

 Collection, the color above is a dark grey mixed with black. Ears dingy white ; muzzle 

 black; the chin and space above the snout reddish white. The broad black band across the 

 eyes unites under the throat ; the upper edge of this band is margined with white over the 

 cheeks and eyes. Hair beneath long and hoary. • Tail annulafed, with twelve alternate 

 bands of black and light, fulvous ; tip black. In the female, the black markings on the body 

 and tail are of a deeper hue. Total length 36 inches ; tail, 10. 



This is a well known animal, found in every part of the State. It has been quaintly de- 

 scribed as having the limbs of a bear, the body of a badger, the head of a fox, the nose of a 

 dog, the tail of a cat, and sharp claws by which it climbs trees like a monkey. The Raccoon 

 is a restless, mischievous animal, feeding on wild and domesticated fowls, frogs, lizards, fish 

 and insects. From its fondness for water, it is most usually found in low wooded swamps, 

 making its lair in some hollow tree, and producing four to six cubs at a litter about: the begin- 

 ning of April. It is susceptible of domestication. Its fur is an article of considerable value 



