46 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 60, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



PROCYON T.OTOR INICSPERATUS Nelson 



Maticckmhk Kioy Raccoon 



j'rnci/ini lotor i iwsprratiis Nelson, Sinilhsii. Misc. Collect. 82 (8): 8, July 10, l'.):30. 



Type /oai/ify. — Upper Matccumbt' Key, Monroe County, Fla. 



Type. — No. 255037, male adult, skin and skull, United States 

 National Museum; collected by E. W. Nelson, March 19, 19:30. 



Distribution. — Key Largo Group, embracing fringing keys along 

 the southeast coast of Florida, from Virginia Key south to Lower 

 Matecumbe Key. Tropical Zone. 



General characters. — Closely allied to P. I. elucus of adjacent main- 

 land, but averaging smaller and grayer; skull flatter. Differs from 

 P. I. marinus, P. I. avs picatus , and P. I. incautus, representatives of 

 neighboring groups of Florida keys, in its larger, more robust form, 

 and in the combination of color and cranial characters. 



Color. — Much as in P. I. elucus but usually somewhat grayer, 

 especially on head and face; black mask more restricted, the upper 

 surface of muzzle paler; dorsum rather heavily washed with black, 

 and rusty rufous nuchal patch well marked as in elucus; dark rings on 

 tail distinct, and li^'ht rings often strongly l)uffy. 



Cranial characters. — Skull similar to that of P. I. elucus, but frontal 

 area markedly depressed, instead of highly arched, or ''humped." 

 Differing from those of P. I. marinus, P. I. auspicatus, and P. I. incautus 

 in larger size and more massive proportions; posterior upper premolar 

 and carnassial actually, and therefore relatively, decidedly smaller 

 than in P. I. marinus. Compared further with those of auspicatus 

 and incautus, the palatal shelf extends farther behind the posterior 

 molars than in the former and the frontal region is usually broader 

 than in either. 



Measurements. — Type: Total length, 730 mm.; tail vertebrae, 250; hind foot, 

 115; weight (pounds), 8.5. Adult male from Key Largo: 795; 222; 124; weight 

 (pounds), 12. Adult female from Lower Matecumbe Key: 648; 228; 102; weight 

 (pounds), 5. Skull: Type: Greatest length, 114; condylobasal length, 108.1; 

 zygomatic breadth, 68.2; interorbital breadth, 23.1; least width of palatal shelf, 

 15.2; maxillary tooth row (alveoli), 41; upper carnassial, crown length, 9.1, crown 

 width, 9.6. 



Remarks. — Only a short distance separates the insular habitat of 

 the present subspecies from the adjacent Florida mainland which is 

 occupied by P. I. elucus. Nevertheless specimens from the various 

 keys of the Key I^argo Group differ somewhat in color as pointed out, 

 and the skulls may at once be recognized by appreciably smaller size 

 and more flattened frontals. The skidls of those from Key Largo 

 and Virginia Key are larger than those from the more distant Upper 

 and Lower Matecumbe Keys, and in this respect grade toward the 



