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Raccoon

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Raccoon



 
 
Procyon is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of nocturnal mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Procyonidae
Procyonidae

Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the Procyon s, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, Ring-tailed_Cats and cacomistles....
. The most widespread species, the Common Raccoon
Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most widespread species, the Raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are considerably lesser-known....
 (P. lotor), is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics
Tropics

The Tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23?26' N latitude, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23?26' S latitude....
 and are considerably lesser-known. Genetic studies have shown that the closest relatives of the raccoon are the ring-tailed cats and cacomistle
Cacomistle

The Cacomistle is a nocturnal, arboreal and omnivore member of the carnivoran family procyonidae. Its preferred habitats are wet, tropical evergreen woodlands and mountain forests, though seasonally it will range into drier deciduous forests....
s.

oons are unusual, for their thumb
Thumb

The thumb is the Human_anatomical_terms#Anatomical_directions-most finger of the hand. The English adjective for thumb is pollical....
s (though not opposable) enable them to open many closed containers (such as garbage cans and door
Door

A door is a moveable barrier used to cover an opening. Doors are used widely and are found in walls or partitions of a building or space, furniture such as cupboards, cage s, vehicles, and containers....
s).






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Encyclopedia


Procyon is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of nocturnal mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Procyonidae
Procyonidae

Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the Procyon s, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, Ring-tailed_Cats and cacomistles....
. The most widespread species, the Common Raccoon
Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most widespread species, the Raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are considerably lesser-known....
 (P. lotor), is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics
Tropics

The Tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23?26' N latitude, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23?26' S latitude....
 and are considerably lesser-known. Genetic studies have shown that the closest relatives of the raccoon are the ring-tailed cats and cacomistle
Cacomistle

The Cacomistle is a nocturnal, arboreal and omnivore member of the carnivoran family procyonidae. Its preferred habitats are wet, tropical evergreen woodlands and mountain forests, though seasonally it will range into drier deciduous forests....
s.

General attributes

Raccoons are unusual, for their thumb
Thumb

The thumb is the Human_anatomical_terms#Anatomical_directions-most finger of the hand. The English adjective for thumb is pollical....
s (though not opposable) enable them to open many closed containers (such as garbage cans and door
Door

A door is a moveable barrier used to cover an opening. Doors are used widely and are found in walls or partitions of a building or space, furniture such as cupboards, cage s, vehicles, and containers....
s). They are omnivore
Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eating both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively....
s with a reputation for being clever and mischievous; their intelligence and dexterity equip them to survive in a wide range of environments and are one of the few medium-to-large-sized animals that have enlarged its range since human encroachment began (another is the coyote
Coyote

The coyote , also known as the prairie wolf, is a species of canid found throughout North America and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States, and Canada....
). Raccoon hindfeet are plantigrade
Plantigrade

In mammals, plantigrade locomotion means walking with the podials and metatarsals flat on the ground.Primates are examples of plantigrade species; in humans, the podials and metatarsals constitute the sole of the foot....
 similar to a human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
's. Raccoons are sometimes considered vermin
Vermin

Vermin is a term applied to various animal species regarded as Pest or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease....
 or a nuisance, and are common in campgrounds of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, especially in the Midwest. Many people are surprised when a creature that they usually think of as cute or cuddly raids their campsite at night and makes odd growls and fights viciously over scraps of food left out by campers. They have also readily adapted to urban environments (compare urban opossums
Virginia Opossum

The Virginia Opossum , commonly known as the North American Opossum, is the only marsupial found in North America north of the Rio Grande River....
, skunks and foxes), scavenging garbage bins and other food-sources.

Although there is some variation depending on the species in question, raccoons range from 20-40 inches (51-102 cm) in length (including the tail) and weigh between 10 and 35 lbs (4.5-16 kg). The raccoon's tail
Tail

The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals and birds....
 ranges from 8 to 16 inches (20-40 cm) in length. Male raccoons are generally larger than females. A baby raccoon is called a kit.

Raccoons can live up to 16 years in the wild, though most do not make it through their second year. A raccoon that survives past its youth will live an average of 5 years. Primary causes of mortality include humans (hunting, trapping, cars) and malnutrition.

Species

There are three species of raccoon. The most widespread is the Common Raccoon, also known as the Northern Raccoon, which has a natural range of Southern Canada to Southern Mexico and has been introduced
Introduced species

A species is defined as introduced in a certain geographical area, if that area is outside the species' indigenous distributional range, and the species has arrived there by human activity....
 to Continental Europe
Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas....
. Raccoons can live in the city or in the wild, and while they are not domesticated they are on rare occasion kept as pets.

The two rarer species are the Tres Marias Raccoon
Tres Marias Raccoon

The Tres Marias raccoon is a subspecies of the Raccoon Endemism on the two main islands of the Islas Mar?as, an archipelago off the western coast of the Mexico state of Nayarit....
 (P. insularis), native to the Tres Marías
Islas Marías

The Islas Mar?as are an archipelago of 4 islands that belong to Mexico. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some 100 km off the coast of the mexican state of Nayarit....
 islands off the Pacific Coast of Mexico, and the Crab-eating Raccoon
Crab-eating raccoon

The Crab-eating Raccoon is a species of Procyon native to marshy and jungle areas of Central America and South America .The Crab-eating Raccoon eats crab, lobster, and other crustaceans, but is an omnivore and its diet also includes, for example, small amphibians, turtle eggs, and fruits....
 (P. cancrivorus) of tropical Central and South America.

Some raccoons once considered separate species are now thought to be the same as or subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 of the common raccoon, including the Barbados Raccoon
Barbados Raccoon

The Barbados raccoon is an Extinction subspecies of the Raccoon , that was Endemism on Barbados in the Lesser Antilles until 1964....
 (P. gloveralleni), Nassau Raccoon (P. maynardi), Guadeloupe Raccoon
Guadeloupe Raccoon

The Guadeloupe raccoon is a subspecies of the Raccoon Endemism on the two main islands Basse-Terre Island and Grande-Terre of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles....
 (P. minor), and Cozumel Island Raccoon (P. pygmaeus) (Helgen and Wilson 2005). Procyon brachyurus was described from captive specimens; its identity is undeterminable as the remains of the two animals assigned to this taxon
Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
 cannot be located anymore and may have been lost.

Nomenclature

The word "raccoon" is derived from the Algonquian
Algonquian language

Algonquian language may refer to:* Algonquian languages, language sub-family indigenous to North America* Algonquin language, the particular Algonquian language spoken by certain First-Nations people of Canada...
 word aroughcoune, "he who scratches with his hands." Spanish-speaking colonists similarly adopted their term, mapache, from the Nahuatl word for the animal, meaning roughly "that which has hands."

The genus name, Procyon, comes from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 for "pre-dog"; this term is also used for the star Procyon
Procyon

Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor. To the naked eye, it appears to be a single star, the list of brightest stars in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of 0.34....
 of the constellation Canis Minor
Canis Minor

Canis Minor is a small constellation. It was included in the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is still included among the 88 modern constellations....
.

Raccoons are today understood to have a relatively loose evolutionary relationship with bear
Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives....
s which was nonetheless seen as significant by the early taxonomists; Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
 initially placed the Raccoon in the genus Ursus
Ursus

Ursus is Latin language for "bear". In this form it refers to a male bear or the species regardless of gender; the specifically female form is Ursa....
. In many languages, the raccoon is named for its characteristic dousing behavior in conjunction with that language's term for "bear": Waschbär in German
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
, mosómedve in Hungarian
Hungarian language

Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
, vaskebjørn in Danish
Danish language

Danish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the status of minority language....
 and Norwegian
Norwegian language

Norwegian is a North Germanic languages language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language. It is also spoken as a second language among Norwegian-Americans in the United States of America, especially in the central northern states....
, tvättbjörn in Swedish
Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic languages language, spoken by around 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the ?land islands....
, wasbeer in Dutch
Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native...
, pesukarhu in Finnish
Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by Finnish people outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden....
, araiguma in Japanese
Japanese language

IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
, orsetto lavatore in Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
, huànxióng in Chinese
Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
 and ????? ????? in Bulgarian
Bulgarian language

Bulgarian is an Indo-European languages, a member of the Slavic languages linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except Macedonian language, such as the elimination of grammatical case, the development of a suffixed definite article , the lack of a verb infin...
 all mean "washing bear." One exception is Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
, where raccoon is named enot due to similarity between raccoon and genet
Genet (animal)

Genets are Old World carnivores of the family Viverridae, related to civets and linsangs. All species are contained within the genus Genetta, although the Aquatic Genet, is sometimes housed in its own genus Osbornictis....
 furs.

In some cases, the "washing" descriptor is applied only to the Common Raccoon species: for example, in French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 the common raccoon is called raton laveur or "washing rat," while its Linnaean
Linnaean taxonomy

Linnaean taxonomy is a method of classifying living things, originally devised by Carolus Linnaeus , although it has changed considerably since his time....
 binomial
Binomial nomenclature

In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is called binominal nomenclature , binary nomenclature , or the binomial classification system....
 is Procyon lotor or, roughly, "washing pre-dog." In contrast, the Crab-eating Raccoon is "little crab-catching rat" (raton crabier) and "crab-eating pre-dog" (Procyon cancrivorous) in French and Latin, respectively.

Literature


  • Helgen, K.M. & Wilson, D.E. 2005. A systematic and zoogeographic overview of the raccoons of Mexico and Central America. Pp. 219-234 in Sanchez-Cordero, V. & Medellin, R.A. (eds.). Contribuciones Mastozoologicas: en Homenaje a Bernardo Villa. Mexico City: Instituto de Biologia e Instituto de Ecologia, UNAM.


See also


  • Raccoon Dog
    Raccoon Dog

    The Raccoon Dog is a member of the Canidae family and is indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant taxon species in its genus Nyctereutes....
     - an unrelated animal sometimes confused with raccoons
  • Red Panda
    Red Panda

    The Red Panda, also called the Firefox or Lesser Panda , is a mostly herbivorous mammal, specialized as a bamboo feeder. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat ....
  • Maine coon
    Maine Coon

    The Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat well known for its distinctive physical appearance. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically Endemism to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat....


External links