260 CLASS MAMMALIA, 



palm on the side of the wrist. Finally, the little digit is con- 

 nected with a very small tubercle, which communicates with 

 a part of the preceding. The sole of the hind-foot differs 

 less from that of the Racoons, the tubercles being similar 

 in number. The first, commencing from the side of the 

 first toe, furnishes its base, the next is in relation with the 

 two following toes, and the two others correspond to the 

 joining of the second toe with the third, and of this last 

 with the little toe. Lastly, a fifth tubercle is found behind 

 on the side of the heel. The external covering of all these 

 parts is a skin, extremely soft. It seldom or never happens 

 that two specimens of the Brown Coati are to be found 

 exactly alike. They are met with of all variety of shades 

 between brown and fawn-coloured, depending on the greater 

 or less depth of the tint with which the extremities of the 

 hairs are coloured. Some have been found with the muzzle 

 entirely black, others had the tail without rings, others 

 were of a whitish gray, while the majority were a deep 

 orange yellow. In general on the upper parts of the body 

 the hairs were yellowish in their lower half, then came a 

 portion of black, and finally, the extremities were tipped 

 with fawn-colour more or less deep, which, according to its 

 depth, produces the sombre shade of the Brown Coati, or the 

 brighter tint of the fawn-coloured variety. None of these 

 differences happened to belong to sex. The lower parts and 

 the internal face of the limbs are of a yellowish gray, some- 

 times of an orange shade, and these colours at times rise 

 as high as the breast and over the sides of the neck and the 

 lower jaw ; and behind these places is sometimes seen a 

 part of a white colour. The summit of the head is gray, 

 all the lower jaw white, the upper part of the muzzle 

 black, except that in the majority of specimens there is a 

 white line along the nose, and three other white spots 

 round the eye. One of these spots was above the eye, one 

 below, and the other at the side of the external angle. The 



