74 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA (5 0, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



General characters. — A pale sul)spocios with short, coarse pohit>:o. 

 Closely resembling Procyon i. insularis of Maria Madi"e Island, but 

 dorsum more conspicuously overlaid with black, and top of head some- 

 what darker; cranial characters distinctive. 



Color.- — Upper parts in general light cream buff, the dorsal area 

 rathei- tiiinly overlaid with })la('k; sides lighter, the black-tipp(Ml hairs 

 inconspicuous; top of head gray mixed with l)lack, giving a grizzled 

 (>(fect ; black mask across face extending downward to nose and up- 

 ward on median line to middle of forehead; whit<' su])raorbital mark- 

 ings normal; si(k>s of muzzle, lips, and chin white; under parts in gen- 

 eral thinly overlaid with very ])ale creamy buff, the light brown under- 

 fur sliowing through; throat patch brownish flecked with gray; ears 

 grayish, the black patches at posterior base, usual in the group, obso- 

 lescent; legs about like sides, becoming dull whitish on feet; hind legs 

 brownish on outer sides near ankles; tail above with seven black rings 

 and a black tip, alternating with broader cream buff rings, the dark 

 rings interrupted below. 



Cranial characters. — Skull very similar to that of P. i. insularis, but 

 brain case more highly arched; lambdoid crest rising higher over fora- 

 men magnum; basioccipital, basisphenoid, and palatal shelf narrower; 

 palatal ridges (extending posteriorly to pterygoids) less widely sep- 

 arated; pterygoids thinner, the posterior ends less everted; maxillary 

 arm of zygoma normal, the lower external border not projecting and 

 forming a distinct process separated from outer alveolar border of 

 molars by a deep notch; zygomata very broad and heavy, as in insu- 

 laris; foramen magnum more nearly circular (more decidedly wider 

 than high in insularis) ; dentition about the same. 



Aleasurements. — Type: Total length, 904 mm.; tail vertebrae, 313; hind foot, 

 135. Skull: Type: Greatest length, 120; condylobasal length, 115.2; zygomatic 

 breadth, 84.6; interorbital breadth, 27.7; least width of palatal shelf, 14.1; maxil- 

 lary tooth row (alveoli), 42.6; upper carnassial, crown length, 8.7, crown width, 9.2. 



Remarks. — As might be expected P. i. vicinus is closely allied to its 

 neai' geographic neighbor, P. i. insularis of Maria Madre Island, and 

 ref|uires no very close comparison with any other form. It is distin- 

 guished externally from adjacent mainland forms, P. I. inexicanus and 

 P. I. hernandezii, by shorter, coarser pelage, the general color inclining 

 toward buft'y instead of grayish, and the black post auricular spots 

 obsolescent; the skull difters in mnnerous important details, especially 

 the higher arched brain case, much broader, heavier, zygomata, luir- 

 rower palatal shelf, and narrower carnassials. 



Specimens examined. — Two, from the type locality. 



