V2 THE TOWER MENAGERIE. 
ones of which are small and pointed, and the three 
posterior broad and surmounted by prominent and 
blunted tubercles; while in the Bears the three anterior 
appear rather to form a supplemental appendage, being 
placed irregularly and at unequal distances, and not 
unfrequently falling out altogether as the animal ad- 
vances in age: the tubercles on the crowns of the poste- 
rior ones-are also much less strongly marked. The 
Coatis exhibit nearly the same mode of dentition as the 
Racoons ; but striking marks of distinction between them 
are afforded by the comparative length of the tail, which 
in the latter is scarcely half as long as the body; and by 
that of the snout, which, instead of being prolonged into 
an extensible muzzle, capable of being moved about in 
all directions, as in the Coatis, is scarcely produced 
beyond the lower lip, and has very little motion. The 
strongly marked difference in physiognomy arising from 
this circumstance is increased by the width of the head 
posteriorly, which is so great as to give to the general 
outline of the face of the Racoons the form of a nearly 
equilateral triangle. Their ears are of moderate length, 
upright and rounded at the tip; their legs strikingly 
contrast in their slender ‘and graceful form with the 
strong and muscular limbs of the Bears; and their nails, 
five in number on each of the feet, are long, pointed, and _ | 
of considerable strength. The whole body is clothed 
with long, thick, and soft hair; and its general shape, 
notwithstanding its intimate connexion with the Bears, 
and its short and thickset proportions, is not without a 
certain degree of elegance and lightness. 
The Racoons are natives of America, and the species 
which has been most frequently observed by naturalists, 
