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ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



Procyonidw. — The family Procyonidte includes a member of omnivor- 

 ous specializations from the central phylum now represented by the 

 Canidae. All of them are arboreal, partly retaining and partly reverting 

 to the primitive mode of life in this respect. They are mainly jSTeotrop- 



FiG. 10. — Distribution of the Procyonidw and Viverrida', formerly Nearctic and 

 Palwarctic, hut now surviving chiefly in the peripheral regions 



The geographical position of Aeliirus Is anomalous for a member of the Procyonlda?, to 

 which family it Is usually referred. Its true affinities, however, are doubtful. 



leal, but the raccoon, the most dog-like of the family, survives as far 

 north as the Sonoran region. The panda of the Himalayas is usually 

 placed with Procyonidse, but its true affinity is not very clear. 



