Procyonidae

Common raccoons Procyon lotor, from here.

Belongs within: Musteloidea.

The Procyonidae are a family of New World carnivorans including such animals as raccoons (Procyon), coatis (Nasua and Nasuella), kinkajous (Potos) and cacomistles (Bassariscus). Procyonids are generally omnivorous, and most living species (except the kinkajou) possess distinctive facial markings. The family is most diverse in South and Central America, with only the common raccoon Procyon lotor and white-nosed coati Nasua narica found north of Mexico. Raccoons of the genus Procyon have a stout build, a black mask across the eyes and a thick ringed tail. Coatis of the genera Nasua and Nasuella have a more slender head with a flexible, upturned snout.

See also: West Indian raccoons: from endangered endemics to invasive introductions.

Synapomorphies (from Flynn et al. 1988): Suprameatal fossa deep, open ventrally; malleus with a small processus muscularis; two molars in each half of each jaw, upper molars with expanded metaconule, M₂ with elongate talonid and enlarged hypoconulid.

<==Procyonidae [Procyoninae, Procyonoidea]
    |  i. s.: Arctonasua floridanus V91
    |         Chapalmalania Ameghino 19087 D07
    |           `--C. altaefrontis D07
    |--Potos Geoffroy & Cuvier 1795 FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy)
    |    `--P. flavus (Schreber 1774) [=Lemur flavus, Caudivolvulus flavus] C57
    |         |--P. f. flavus (see below for synonymy) C57
    |         |--P. f. aztecus G69
    |         |--P. f. chapadensis Allen 1904 [incl. P. flavus brasiliensis Ihering 1911] C57
    |         |--P. f. megalotus (Martin 1836) (see below for synonymy) C57
    |         |--P. f. meridensis Thomas 1902 C57
    |         |--P. f. modestus Thomas 1902 C57
    |         `--P. f. nocturnus (Wied 1826) [=Nasua nocturna] C57
    `--+--+--Bassariscus FS15
       |  |    |--B. astutus R84b
       |  |    |    |--B. a. astutus MB86
       |  |    |    |--B. a. bolei G69
       |  |    |    |--B. a. consitus Nelson & Goldman 1932 MB86
       |  |    |    |--B. a. flavus Rhoads 1894 MB86
       |  |    |    `--B. a. macdougalli G69
       |  |    `--B. sumichrasti R84b
       |  |         |--B. s. sumichrasti G69
       |  |         |--B. s. campechensis G69
       |  |         |--B. s. latrans G69
       |  |         `--B. s. oaxacensis G69
       |  `--Procyon FS15
       |       |  i. s.: P. gloveranni V84
       |       |         P. insularis V84
       |       |           |--P. i. insularis BP87
       |       |           `--P. i. vicinus BP87
       |       |         P. maynardi BP87
       |       |         P. minor V84
       |       |--P. (Procyon) lotor G69, FS15
       |       |    |--P. l. lotor MB86
       |       |    |--P. l. hermandezii Wagler 1831 MB86
       |       |    |--P. l. hirtus Nelson & Goldman 1930 B75
       |       |    |--P. l. mexicanus Baird 1858 MB86
       |       |    `--P. l. shufeldti G69
       |       `--+--P. (Euprocyon Gray 1864) C57
       |          |    `--P. (*E.) cancrivorus (Cuvier 1798) C57, FS15, C57 [=Ursus cancrivorus C57]
       |          |         |--P. c. cancrivorus C57
       |          |         |--P. c. aequatorialis Allen 1915 C57
       |          |         |--P. c. nigripes Mivart 1886 (see below for synonymy) C57
       |          |         |--P. c. panamensis (Goldman 1913) [=Eurocyon cancrivorus panamensis] C57
       |          |         `--P. c. proteus Allen 1904
       |          `--P. pygmaeus FS15
       `--+--Nasua Storr 1780 FS15, C57 [incl. Coati Lacépéde 1799 C57, Cuati Liais 1872 C57, Nasica South 1845 C57]
          |    |  i. s.: N. nelsoni R84a
          |    |--*N. nasua (Linné 1766) C57, FS15, C57 [=Viverra nasua C57, Ursus nasua C57]
          |    |    |--N. n. nasua (see below for synonymy) C57
          |    |    |--N. n. aricana Vieira 1945 C57
          |    |    |--N. n. boliviensis Cabrera 1956 C57
          |    |    |--N. n. candace Thomas 1912 [incl. N. judex Thomas 1914] C57
          |    |    |--N. n. cinerascens Lönnberg 1921 C57
          |    |    |--N. n. dorsalis Gray 1866 (see below for synonymy) C57
          |    |    |--N. n. manium Thomas 1912 (see below for synonymy) C57
          |    |    |--N. n. montana Tschudi 1844 C57
          |    |    |--N. n. quichua Thomas 1901 C57
          |    |    |--N. n. solitaria Schinz 1823 (see below for synonymy) C57
          |    |    `--N. n. vittata Tschusi 1844 (see below for synonymy) C57
          |    `--+--N. narica FS15
          |       |    |--N. n. narica MB86
          |       |    |--N. n. isthmicus G69
          |       |    `--N. n. molaris Merriam 1902 MB86
          |       `--Nasuella Hollister 1915 FS5, C57
          |            `--N. olivacea (Gray 1863) [=Nasua olivacea] C57
          |                 |--N. o. olivacea (see below for synonymy) C57
          |                 |--*N. o. meridensis (Thomas 1901) [=Nasua olivacea meridensis] C57
          |                 `--N. o. quitensis (Lönnberg 1913) [=Nasua olivacea quitensis] C57
          `--Bassaricyon Allen 1876 FS15, C57 [=Bassariscyon (l. c.) C57]
               |--*B. gabbii C57
               |    |--B. g. gabbii C57
               |    |--B. g. medius Thomas 1909 [incl. Bassariscyon (l. c.) gabbii orinomus Goldman 1912] C57
               |    `--B. g. siccatus Thomas 1927 C57
               |--B. alleni Thomas 1880 C57
               |--B. beddardi (Pocock 1921) FS15, C57 [=Bassariscus beddardi C57]
               |--B. lasius FS15
               `--B. pauli FS15

Inorganic: Procyon lotor protominilorientalus Okamura 1987 O87

Nasua nasua dorsalis Gray 1866 [incl. N. quichua jivaro Thomas 1914, N. narica juruana Ihering 1911, N. nasua mephisto Thomas 1927, N. nasua soederstroemmi Lönnberg 1921] C57

Nasua nasua manium Thomas 1912 [incl. N. nasuta Tschudi 1844 (n. n.), N. rufina Tschudi 1844 (n. n.)] C57

*Nasua nasua nasua (Linné 1766) [incl. Myrmecophaga annulata Desmarest 1820, N. fusca Desmarest 1820, N. socialis mexiana Hagmann 1908, N. nasua mexianae, Viverra quasje Gmelin 1788, N. quasje, Myrmecophaga striata Shaw 1800, N. socialis var. rufa Desmarest 1820, N. vulgaris Cuvier 1842] C57

Nasua nasua solitaria Schinz 1823 [incl. N. socialis var. fulva Wagner 1841, N. henseli Lönnberg 1921, N. nasica Winge 1859, N. sociabilis Schinz 1823, N. socialis Wied 1826] C57

Nasua nasua vittata Tschusi 1844 [incl. N. candace dichromatica Tate 1939, N. phaeocephala Allen 1904] C57

Nasuella olivacea olivacea (Gray 1863) [incl. Nasua olivacea lagunetae Allen 1913, Nasuella olivacea lagunetae] C57

Potos Geoffroy & Cuvier 1795 FS15, C57 [incl. Aesurus Rafinesque 1815 C57, Caudivolvulus Dumeril 1805 C57, Cercoleptes Illiger 1811 C57, Kinkajou Lacépède 1799 C57]

Potos flavus flavus (Schreber 1774) [incl. Cercoleptes brachyotus Martin 1836, C. brachyotos, Potos flavus brachyotus, Viverra caudivolvula Pallas in Schreber 1777, Cercoleptes caudivolvulus, Didelphis caudivolvulus, Kinkajou caudivolvulus, *Potos caudivolvulus, Pottos caudivolvulus, Ursus caudivolvulus, Mustela potto Müller 1776, Lemur simiasciurus Schreber 1774] C57

Potos flavus megalotus (Martin 1836) [=Cercoleptes megalotus; incl. P. flavus caucensis Allen 1904, P. flavus isthmicus Goldman 1913, P. flavus mansuetus Thomas 1914, P. flavus tolimensis Allen 1913] C57

Procyon cancrivorus nigripes Mivart 1886 [incl. P. cancrivorus brasiliensis Ihering 1911, Euprocyon cancrivorus brasiliensis] C57

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B75] Bowles, J. B. 1975. Distribution and biogeography of mammals of Iowa. Special Publications, The Museum, Texas Tech University 9: 1–184.

[BP87] Burton, J. A., & B. Pearson. 1987. Collins Guide to the Rare Mammals of the World. Collins: London.

[C57] Cabrera, A. 1957. Catalogo de los mamiferos de America del Sur. I (Metatheria—Unguiculata—Carnivora). Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de Las Ciencias Naturales, Ciencias Zoológicas 4 (1): 1–307.

[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.

[FS15] Faurby, S., & J.-C. Svenning. 2015. A species-level phylogeny of all extant and late Quaternary extinct mammals using a novel heuristic-hierarchical Bayesian approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 14–26.

Flynn, J. J., N. A. Neff & R. H. Tedford. 1988. Phylogeny of the Carnivora. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods vol. 2. Mammals pp. 73–116. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[G69] Goodwin, G. G. 1969. Mammals from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, in the American Museum of Natural History. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 141 (1): 1–269, 40 pls.

[MB86] Matson, J. O., & R. H. Baker. 1986. Mammals of Zacatecas. Special Publications, Museum of Texas Tech University 24: 1–88.

[O87] Okamura, C. 1987. New facts: Homo and all Vertebrata were born simultaneously in the former Paleozoic in Japan. Original Report of the Okamura Fossil Laboratory 15: 347–573.

[R84a] Russell, J. K. 1984a. Coatis. In: Macdonald, D. (ed.) All the World’s Animals: Carnivores pp. 94–95. Torstar Books Inc.: New York.

[R84b] Russell, J. K. 1984b. Other procyonids. In: Macdonald, D. (ed.) All the World’s Animals: Carnivores pp. 98–99. Torstar Books Inc.: New York.

[V91] Valkenburgh, B. van. 1991. Iterative evolution of hypercarnivory in canids (Mammalia: Carnivora): evolutionary interactions among sympatric predators. Paleobiology 17 (4): 340–362.

[V84] Voigt, D. R. 1984. Raccoons. In: Macdonald, D. (ed.) All the World’s Animals: Carnivores pp. 92–93. Torstar Books Inc.: New York.

Last updated: 7 August 2018.