THE COAITI. 313 



The Agouara Procyon cancrivorns (Plate XXI), as the South American 

 variety is called, is styled " Cancrii'orus" or " Crab-eater," as he is even 

 fonder than his Northern kindred of all kinds of Crustacea and mollusca. 

 It is larger than our racoon, and its fur has a tinge of yellow, darker or 

 lighter on different parts of the body. The tail is short, and has six 

 black rings on a blackish-yellow ground. 



The Black-footed Racoon, Procyon Hcrnandczii, is larger than the 

 common coon, the tail is longer and thinner, and the black rings narrower 

 and better defined. It is found on the Pacific coast and in Mexico. 



The California Coon, Procyon psora, is, according to Prof. Baird, a 

 mere variety of the above. It was found in the same neighborhood, and 

 Gray, who described and named it as a separate species, never saw any- 

 thing but a most imperfect specimen, 



II.— GENUS NASUA. 



The number of species comprised in this genus is still far from settled. 

 Wallace expresses doubt as to the five species which he gives in his 

 " Distribution of Animals." The Prince of Wied describes two Brazilian 

 species, but Henscl conclusively shows that they are identical. Tschudi 

 seems to have established tivo species for the Southwest of America. 



The animals of this genus have a slender, marten-like body, short 

 neck, and long pointed head ; a bushy tail as long as the body, and short, 

 powerful, bare-soled legs. Their conspicuous feature is their nose, 

 which is prolonged over the mouth so as to form a miniature proboscis, 

 which they are in the habit of turning up when they drink to keep it from 

 being wetted more than necessary. 



The Coati, Nasua nasica (Plate XXI), comes from East Brazil, and 

 is about forty inches in length, of which eighteen belong to the tail. Its 

 thick and pretty long fur consists of stiff bright bristles protruding from 

 a soft, short, woolly coat. The color on the back varies from red to gray- 

 ish-brown ; on the belly it passes into a yellowish shade. The tail has 

 seven rings of dark-brown, and seven of brownish-yellow. The forehead 

 is yellowish-gray, the lips white, the ears yellowish in front, black 

 behind ; a round white mark stands over each eye, and a white stripe 

 runs from below the eye down the nose. A curious set of tubercules 

 is found on their feet. The narrow head terminates in a salient, mobile 

 muzzle, and the tongue is soft and extensible. 

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