CARNIVORA. URSIDiE. 25 



Atlantic and Pacific Oceans ; and from the shores of Carolina to 

 the Arctic seas. 



Hence he may be considered as one of the most widely 

 distributed animals of the globe. Undoubtedly his constitution is 

 fitted more particularly for a temperate climate ; still his thick coat 

 of fur effectually enables him to inhabit the cold regions of the 

 North, and secures him a safe residence wherever food can be 

 procured. Being an eater of vegetables as well as of flesh, he is 

 still better enabled to take this wide range of territory, than most 

 of the mammalia, man excepted. 



Genus Procyon. Storr. 



Generic characters. Dental system ; incisors J ; canines § ; 

 molars |=| ; — . 40. The last three grinders of each jaw tuber- 

 culated ; feet pentadactyle ; nails sharp ; muzzle pointed ; ears 

 moderate ; tail long ; six ventral mammae. 



1. Procyon lotor. Cuv. The Raccoon. 



Ursus lotor, Lin. Gm., i. p. 103. Harlan, Fauna, 54. 



Le Raton, Buffon, viii. pp. 337, t. 43. 



Procyon lotor, Cuv., Reg. An., i. p. 143. Sabine, Franklin's Jour., p. 



649. Harlan, Fauna, p. 53. 

 The Raccoon, Godman, Nat. Hist., i. p. 163. 

 Figure ; Ibid., p. 161. 



Specific characters. Fur brownish ; muzzle black, naked, and 

 flexible ; a wide black or dark-brown band passes through each 

 eye and cheek ; another of a similar color passes between the eyes, 

 and is continued upon the forehead ; lips black ; pupils of the 

 eyes circular ; ears erect, elliptical, with rounded tips, which, 

 together with their edges, are of a soiled white ; tail ringed and 

 bushy like the fox. 



Description. The Raccoon has a round head, tapering and 

 terminating in a rather acute snout, which projects considerably 

 beyond the mouth. The dark bands, passing through the eyes 

 and over the forehead, impart to the animal a very characteristic 

 look. The general color is more or less gray, which is produced 

 by a mixture of brown, black, and dirty white hairs. The back 

 4 



