RACCOONS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA 69 



patch often present in more noi'thern forms is absent or only faintly 

 indicated in some individuals. In the type locality it was found by 

 the collector living among mangroves where specimens were obtained 

 by shooting. Examination of stomach contents revealed crabs, which 

 appear to be the principal food. In all of the skulls, including that of 

 a young individual about two-thirds grown, the large cheek teeth are 

 much more worn than is usual in raccoons of corresponding ages. This 

 excessive wear, greatest on the molars, is due evidently to the abrasive 

 character of the food. The delicate cranial structure and rapid reduc- 

 tion of the molars also suggest that malnutrition resulting from an 

 imperfect diet, or incomplete mastication of food, may have been 

 responsible for the development of the peculiar characters of this 

 localized race. 



Specimens examined. — Total number, 22, as follows: 

 Guatemala: Exact locality unknown, 5. 



Salvador: Barra de Santiago, Department of Ahuachapam (type locality), 17 (4 

 skins without skulls).^' 



PROCYOX LOTOR CRASSIDEXS Hollister 

 Costa Rican Raccoon 



Proci/on lotor crassidens Hollister, Biol. Soc. Washington Proc. 27: 142, July 10, 

 1914. 



Type locality. — Talamanca, nortlieastern Costa Rica. 



12191 



Type. — No. , adult [male?], skin and skull. United States 



yi' 14191 



National Museiun; collected by William M. Gabb. Original number 



14. 



Dlstrlhution. — Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Salvador, except south- 

 western coast region and probably Honduras, except western part; 

 probably extending into western Panama. Tropical Zone. 



General characters. — One of the darkest known forms of the group; 

 closely resembling P. I. pumilus of Panama and P. I. dickeyi of Salvador 

 externally, but cranial characters distinctive. 



Color. — About as in P. I. dickeyi, the dorsum heavily overlaid with 

 black extending well down the sides; white supraorbital lines distinct, 

 but short and disappearing under the ears as in dickeyi. 



Cranial characters. — Skull similar to that of P. I. dickeyi, but more 

 massive; frontal region more flattened; palate much broader, the 

 tooth rows more widely separated; dentition heavy much as in 

 dickeyi. Compared with that of P. I. pumilus the skull is larger, 

 relatively longer, narrower, and less extremely flattened; inter- 

 orbital and postorbital regions narrowers; postorbital processes of 



3" Donald R. Dickey collection. 



