Prof. Wiegmann on the Genus Procyon. 133 



species are in the Museum of Berlin, and drawings of them 

 will shortly appear in Prof. A.Wagner's continuation of Schre- 

 ber's Mammalia. 



In order to avoid any mistakes I will here give the dia- 

 gnoses of the five species of Raccoons, with short descriptions, 

 without entering into the various errors of synonym which are 

 found here and there in zoological writings. 



1. Procyon Lotor. 



P. flavescenti-griseus, nigro variegatus, pedibus flavescenti-gviseis, cauda 

 mediocri, laxa, fulvescenti, apice annulisque sex integris fusco-nigris. 

 America septentrionalis. 



Length of head and body in male, 2 f. ■£."; of tail, 10"; of the head from 

 the point of the snout to behind the ear, 5"; of the snout from the front 

 angle of the eye to the point of the nose, 2" ; breadth of snout before 

 the ocular cavities, 1" 6'"; at the canine teeth, 1" 1'"; length of ears, 

 2" 1"'. Female : length of head and body, 1 f. 8"; of tail, 9+». 



Colour of the body yellowish grey with a mixture of black- 

 ish brown. The bristles at the basis brown, in their middle 

 yellowish grey, the upper half black, which produces the 

 blackish brown colour upon the back and on the sides. The 

 fur is of a greyish brown ; the band running from the forehead 

 to the tip of the nose, as also that surrounding the eye, are 

 blackish brown. The snout is rather pointed; the obovate ears 

 are almost half as long as the body. 



2. Procyon Hernandesii, Wagl. 



Albido-griseus, fusco variegatus, pedibus fuscis, cauda mediocri, fulves- 



cente, apiee annulisque 6, infra subinterruptis (?) fusco-nigris. Patria, 



Mexico. 

 Length of the body to the extremity of the tail (in a young animal), 17"; 



of the tail, 7" ; of the ear, 1 " 6'". The distance between the front angle 



of the eye and the extremity of the snout, 1" 6'". 



Wagler was the first to distinguish this species from the 

 common North American raccoon, to which it is very similar, 

 and to which it had been referred. It differs chiefly by its 

 dark brown colouring of the feet, which in P. Lotor are con- 

 stantly of a dirty whitish grey. A more accurate knowledge 

 of this species is very desirable. 



3. Procyon brachyurus, n. sp. 

 Albido-griseus, nigro-fusco variegatus, pedibus griseo-albidis, cauda bre- 



vissima, densissime pilosa, fulvescente, annulis 6 confertis, nigro-fuscis, 



