BRAZILIAN KACOON. 75 



claws, while its teeth were employed to tear the other : 

 having consumed about ten or twelve, it became drowsy, 

 and making a small groove in the earth, in which it 

 seemed to place its snout for protection, it composed, it- 

 self very deliberately, and was soon sound asleep. 



The appearance of this animal, from the heavy form 

 of its body, the shortness and strength of the neck, and 

 its obtuse snout, reminds the observer of the figure of 

 a hog. The fur is warm, adapted to the cold regions 

 which the animal inhabits ; it is composed of long deh- 

 cate hairs, silky at the base, and very closely set : the 

 colour is blackish brown, more or less intense, on every 

 part of the body ; but from the crown to the tip of the 

 tail is a broad streak of yellowish white. The tail is 

 scarcely half an inch long, but it is bushy, and the hairs 

 being lengthened, makes it appear longer. The offensive 

 matter is contained in two glands near the extremity of 

 the rectum. 



The Brazilian Racoon, or Coati Mondi. 



Procyon Nasua, Nob. Viverra Nasua, Gmelin. ^asua rufa 

 et fusca, Desmarest. 



The Brazilian name of Coati Mondi, originally given 

 by ISIarcgrave to this animal, has been preserved to it 

 by the common consent of showmen and compilers. 

 We have already shown the inexpediency of naturalising 

 such names, not only as giving no definite ideas of the 

 animals so designated, but as leading to erroneous and 

 sometimes to palpably false conclusions. We have, 

 therefore, ventured to term the species now under con- 

 sideration, the Brazilian racoon, as appearing to asso- 

 ciate more naturally with that animal than with any 

 other ; and, although it has evidently some peculiarities, 

 we place it in the same genus, rather than form it into 

 a new one. 



The Brazilian racoon, in its native state, is said to 

 live in small troops, in woods adjoining cultivated 

 grounds, particularly sugar plantations, where it causes 



