NO. 5 MAMMALS OF PANAMA GOLDMAN 155 



They are easily tamed and make entertaining pets. Their sense 

 of smell is keen as shown by one at Gatun that without offering to 

 bite would force his long snout into the spaces between my fingers 

 in order to reach a nut held in my clenched hand; but if I extended 

 my empty hand, clenched as before, he merely sniffed at it. When 

 hunted with dogs a whole party will quickly climb trees and pass 

 across from one tree to another until they reach a point where they 

 can go no farther in that direction. If one or more are shot the 

 others usually attempt to escape by running down the tree trunks ; 

 reaching the earth with a bound, they frequently avoid the waiting 

 dogs and go scampering off to another tree. If caught by the dogs, 

 they fight savagely, and slashing with their long, sharp tusks, often 

 inflict serious wounds. 



Alston (1879, p. 75) notes the species as collected by M. Boucard 

 in Panama. Under the name Nasua narica specimens collected at 

 Boquete by W. W. Brown, Jr., were listed by Bangs (1902, p. 49) 

 who says : " The nasuas separate naturally into many geographic 

 races. These, as proper material accumulates, are gradually coming 

 to be understood ; the name narica is used here provisionally." These 

 specimens were referred to N. n. panamensis by Allen (1904, p. yj) 

 who says of them " while they agree in color with bidlata, they lack 

 the excessive development of the audital bullae seen in that form." 

 All of the specimens from Panama are provisionally referred to 

 N. n. panamensis, but the audital bullae are very variable in size, in 

 some examples closely approaching those of N. n. bullata, and N. n. 

 panamensis may prove to be based on an unstable character. Anthony 

 (1916, p. 372) lists specimens from Boca de Cupe ; Real de Santa 

 Maria, Tacarcuna and Tapalisa. 



Specimens examined : Boca de Cupe, i ' ; Boquete, 6 ' ; Boqueron, 

 I ^ ; Cana, i ; Gatun, 2 ; Real de Santa Maria, i ' ; Tacarcuna, 2 ' ; 

 Tapalisa, 4'; Volcan de Chiriqui, i. 



Genus BASSARICYON Allen 

 In external appearance Bassaricyon closely resembles Potos, the 

 short ears, short face, rounded head and general proportions being 

 about the same. The tail, however, unlike that of Potos, is non- 

 prehensile, somewhat flattened like that of a squirrel, and instead of 

 tapering is long-haired to the tip. In cranial characters Bassaricyon 

 and Potos are widely different. The known range of the genus is 



' Collection Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

 ' Collection Mus. Comp. Zool. 



