| Procyon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Common raccoon (P. lotor) | |
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| Crab-eating raccoon (P. cancrivorus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Procyonidae |
| Subfamily: | Procyoninae |
| Tribe: | Procyonini |
| Subtribe: | Procyonina |
| Genus: | Procyon Storr, 1780 |
| Type species | |
| Ursus lotor | |
| Species | |
Procyon is agenus ofnocturnalmammals comprising three species commonly known asraccoons in thefamilyProcyonidae. The most familiar species, thecommon raccoon (P. lotor), is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to thetropics and are less well known. Genetic studies have shown that the closest relatives of raccoons are thering-tailed cats andcacomistles of genusBassariscus,[2][3][4] from which they diverged about 10 million years ago.[4]
Raccoons are unusual, for theirthumbs (though notopposable) enable them to open many closed containers (such asgarbage cans anddoors). They areomnivores 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 their range since human encroachment began (another is thecoyote). Raccoon hindfeet areplantigrade similar to those ofhumans andbears. Raccoons are sometimes consideredvermin or a nuisance.[5] They have readily adapted to urban environments (compare urbanopossums,skunks andfoxes), scavenging garbage bins and other food sources.
Although there is some variation depending on species, raccoons range from 20–40 inches (51–102 cm) in length (including the tail) and weigh between 10 and 35 lb (4.5 and 15.9 kg). The raccoon'stail ranges from 8 to 16 inches (20 to 41 cm) in length. Male raccoons are generally larger than females. A baby raccoon is called a kit.[6]
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 five years. Primary causes of mortality include humans (hunting, trapping, cars) and malnutrition.[7]
There are three extant species of raccoon:
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Description | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
_3.jpg) | Procyon lotor | Raccoon, common raccoon, northern raccoon, racoon | Raccoons can live in the city or the wild. While not domesticated, they are—on rare occasion—kept as pets. | Southern Canada toPanama, and has beenintroduced tocontinental Europe and theJapanese archipelago |
 | P. cancrivorus | Crab-eating raccoon, southern raccoon | Based on genetic studies, the lineages of common and crab-eating raccoons are thought to have separated about 4.2 million years ago.[4] Shorter fur and moregracile. | Costa Rica through most areas ofSouth America east of theAndes down to northernArgentina andUruguay. |
 | P. pygmaeus | Cozumel raccoon, pygmy raccoon | Smaller head and body than the common raccoon. Tail has yellow tint. | Cozumel, an island off the eastern coast of Mexico'sYucatán peninsula. |
_P._lotor_%2526_P._pygmaeus.png)
Some raccoons once considered as separate species are now thought to be the same as orsubspecies of the common raccoon, including theBarbados raccoon (P. gloveralleni),Nassau raccoon (P. maynardi),Guadeloupe raccoon (P. minor), andTres Marias raccoon (P. insularis) (Helgen and Wilson 2005).Procyon brachyurusWiegmann, 1837 was described from captive specimens; its identity is undeterminable as the remains of the two animals assigned to thistaxon cannot be located and may have been lost.
The word "raccoon" is derived from theAlgonquian wordaroughcoune, "he who scratches with his hands". Spanish-speaking colonists similarly adopted their term,mapache, frommapachtli theNahuatl word for the animal, meaning roughly "that which has hands".
The genus name,Procyon, comes from theGreek for "before the dog"; this term is also used for the starProcyon of the constellationCanis Minor.
Raccoons are today understood to have a relatively loose evolutionary relationship withbears, which was nonetheless seen as significant by the earlytaxonomists;Carl Linnaeus initially placed the raccoon in the genusUrsus. In many languages, the raccoon is named for its characteristic dousing behavior in conjunction with that language's term for "bear":Waschbär inGerman,mosómedve inHungarian,vaskebjørn inDanish andNorwegian,tvättbjörn inSwedish,wasbeer inDutch,pesukaru inEstonian andpesukarhu inFinnish,araiguma (アライグマ) inJapanese,orsetto lavatore inItalian,huànxióng (浣熊) inChinese andmieshta mechka (миеща мечка) inBulgarian all mean "washing bear". One exception isRussian, where raccoon is namedyenot (енот) due to similarity between raccoon andgenet furs. However, the full name of the common raccoon in Russian is also water-related: it is calledyenot-poloskun (енот-полоскун), which means "rinsing raccoon".
In some cases, the "washing" descriptor is applied only to the common raccoon species: for example, inFrench the common raccoon is calledraton laveur or "washing rat", while itsLinnaeanbinomial isProcyon 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 cancrivorus) in French and Latin, respectively.
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