26 
NEW-YORK FAUNA. 
GENUS PROCYON. Storr. 
Head short, triangular, with a fox-like appearance. Muzzle tapering, and projecting 
considerably beyond the mouth. Ears small. Tail long, bushy, not prehensile. Stand 
on the heel of the hinder leg, but walk on the toes. Mammae six, ventral. Feet five-toed, 
with large and strong nails. A glandular pouch on each side of the vent. Incisors, £ ; 
canines, §; molars, if = 40. Nocturnal. 
THE RACCOON. 
Procyon lotor. 
PLATE VI. FIG. 2. —(STATE COLLECTION.) 
Linneus, Beskrifnung pa ett americanst djur. Vetensk. Acad. Handl. 1747, p. 277. 
Ursus americanus , cauda elongata. Lin. Analect. Transalp. Tom. 2, p. 35. 
Ursus lotor. Lin. ed. J2, p. 35. Roloff, Description d’un Quadrupede d’Amerique. Hist, de Acad, de Berlin, 1756, 
p. 149. Sc hultze, Bemerkungen iiber den waschharen. Hamburg, 1787. 
Raccoon Bear. Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 1, p. 69. 
Procyon lotor. Harlan, Fauna, p. 54. Godman, Am. Nat. Hist. Yol. 1, p. 163, (figure.) 
P. id. Richardson, F. B. A. Yol. 1, p. 36. 
The Raccoon, Emmons, Mass. Report, 1840, p. 25. 
Characteristics. Brownish; a broad black patch across the eyes. Tail bushy, and ringed 
with black and grey. Total length 2 to 3 feet. 
Description. Body rather low on the legs, and covered with long bushy hair. Ears erect, 
with rounded tips. Head rounded, terminating in a pointed muzzle. Feet with five toes, 
furnished with sharp curved claws. Soles with five stout tubercles. Pupils round. Female 
larger than the male. Hair on the legs and feet short. 
Color varies somewhat with age, sex and season. In the very fine specimen in the State 
Collection, the color above is a dark grey mixed with black. Ears dingy white ; muzzle 
black; the chin and space above the snout reddish white. The broad black band across the 
eyes unites under the throat; the upper edge of this band is margined with white over the 
cheeks and eyes. Hair beneath long and hoary. Tail annulated, with twelve alternate 
bands of black and light, fulvous ; tip black. In the female, the black markings on the body 
and tail are of a deeper hue. Total length 36 inches ; tail, 10. 
This is a well known animal, found in every part of the State. It has been quaintly de¬ 
scribed as having the limbs of a bear, the body of a badger, the head of a fox, the nose of a 
dog, the tail of a cat, and sharp claws by which it climbs trees like a monkey. The Raccoon 
is a restless, mischievous animal, feeding on wild and domesticated fowls, frogs, lizards, fish 
and insects. From its fondness for water, it is most usually found in low wooded swamps, 
making its lair in some hollow tree, and producing four to six cubs at a litter about the begin¬ 
ning of April. It is susceptible of domestication. Its fur is an article of considerable value 
