MAMMALS 271 



P. lotor (L.) . Raccoon ; coon. Color gray, the hairs being yellowish- 

 brown tipped with black; tail ringed with white and black; a black- 

 patch on cheek; fur rather coarse; length 800 mm.; tail 250 mm.; 

 hind foot 120 mm.; weight about 20 lbs.; maximum weight 49 lbs.: 

 United States east of the Rockies. Raccoons are nocturnal, forest 

 animals, frequenting the vicinity of water-courses. They are omnivor- 

 ous in their feeding habits and make their nests mostly in hollow trees, 

 in which they have from 4 to 6 young annually; in the north they 

 hibernate, but not in the south. 



Subspecies of P. lotor 



P. I. lotor (L.). United States north of Florida and Texas. 



P. I. elucus Bangs. Color distinctly yellow: Gulf coast. 



P. I. fuscipes Mearns. Size large; color pale; tail long; feet dark 

 brown; length 900 mm.: southern Texas; southward into Mexico. 



P. I. hernandezi Wagler. Size very large; black tail-rings very 

 narrow: western Mexico and into Arizona and southern California. 



P. pallidus Merriam. Color pale gray, with no yellowish; length 

 855 mm.; tail 295 mm.; hind foot 128 mm.: southern California; a 

 desert form. 



P. psora Gray. Size large; length 900 mm. ; tail 310 mm.; hind foot 

 115 mm.; color dark grizzled gray: Pacific slope. 



Subspecies of P. psora 



P. p. psora Gray. California. 



P. p. pacifica Merriam. Color much darker; black rings on tail 

 continuous below: coastal region and Cascade Mountains of northern 

 California, Oregon and Washington. 



Family 4. Bassariscidae. — Cacomistles. Similar to the Pro- 

 cyonidae, but differing in dental characters; body slender; digits webbed, 

 densely furred; dentition 3/3, i/i, 4/4, 2/2: i genus. 



Bassariscus Coues. Body slender; head short; muzzle pointed; 

 ears large; tail very long, bushy and ringed black and white: 4 species 

 and subspecies in Mexico and the United States. 



B. astutus (Lichtenstein). Civet cat; ring-tailed cat. Color 

 uniform blackish gray, often tinged with fulvous on the sides; under 

 parts yellowish gray; length 850 mm.; tail 425 mm.; hind foot 72 mm.: 

 Mexico; Texas to California and northward into Oregon; nocturnal, 

 omnivorous animals, living mostly among rocks; often common. 



