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.
West Indian raccoons: from endangered endemics to invasive introductions
Published 22 May 2008
In 1788, the journals of one Johann David Schöpf were published in Germany describing his travels in North America. Upon arriving at New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Schöpf noted the presence there of a healthy population of raccoons, which he noted had become established there as the result of “one or more tame pairs of these droll beasts, brought by the curious from the mainland”. An English translation of Schöpf’s work was not to appear until 1911, but had it appeared earlier this post may have been somewhat different.
The raccoons of the genus Procyon are generalist omnivorous carnivorans* widespread in North and South America. The two most widespread species of the genus are the North and Central American P. lotor and the South American P. cancrivorus. Four further species have been described from isolated populations on Caribbean islands. All these island populations have restricted ranges, and the Barbados population is most likely extinct. However, recent research has shown this might not be the conservation tragedy it seems to be, as it turns out that the majority of the four “species” are not valid species after all, but human introductions of the North American P. lotor.
*I just love how confusing that sounds.
Helgen et al. (2008) recently published the results of their genetic investigation into three of the four Caribbean “species”—‘Procyon maynardi’ from the Bahamas, ‘P. minor’ from Guadeloupe and ‘P. gloveralleni’ from Barbados. All three were firmly nested within representatives of raccoons from the eastern and central United States (the fourth species, P. pygmaeus from Cozumel off the coast of southern Mexico, is still regarded as a valid taxon). This finding corroborates earlier studies that found no significant morphological differences between the three island populations and continental populations. What is more, Helgen et al. were able to locate historical records relating to the introductions of two of the three populations. The Bahamas raccoons were the very ones referred to by Schöpf in 1788 (some time before their description as a distinct species in 1898), while the Barbados population was established some time between 1650 and 1680. The origins of the Guadeloupe population are still unknown. Helgen et al. (2008) found that their sampled continental specimens fell into two haplotype clusters, with the Bahamas raccoons among one cluster and the Guadeloupe and Barbados raccoons within another, but there was no clear geographical division between the two clusters.
All three of the original descriptions of the Caribbean populations as distinct species were based on juvenile specimens, and this may have been a factor in their being mistaken for new species. It may have also been the origin of the mistaken belief that specimens of the island populations were smaller than their mainland counterparts. Rather than being conservation targets in their own right, the introduced raccoon populations are a potential cause for concern. This is no small change—in Guadeloupe, the identification of the raccoon population as an endemic species has led to its touting as a flagship species, and the symbol of the Parc National de la Guadeloupe. The removal of its protected status could be an act fraught with political and emotional consequences.
Systematics of Procyonidae
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 floridanusV91 | Chapalmalania Ameghino 19087D07 | `--C. altaefrontisD07 | Pseudobassaris Pohle 1917SM93 | `--P. riggsiMJ11 |--Potos Geoffroy & Cuvier 1795FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) | `--P. flavus (Schreber 1774) [=Lemur flavus, Caudivolvulus flavus]C57 | |--P. f. flavus (see below for synonymy)C57 | |--P. f. aztecusG69 | |--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 1902C57 | |--P. f. modestus Thomas 1902C57 | `--P. f. nocturnus (Wied 1826) [=Nasua nocturna]C57 `--+--+--Bassaricyon Allen 1876FS15, C57 [=Bassariscyon (l. c.)C57] | | |--*B. gabbiiC57 | | | |--B. g. gabbiiC57 | | | |--B. g. medius Thomas 1909 [incl. Bassariscyon (l. c.) gabbii orinomus Goldman 1912]C57 | | | `--B. g. siccatus Thomas 1927C57 | | |--B. alleni Thomas 1880C57 | | |--B. beddardi (Pocock 1921)FS15, C57 [=Bassariscus beddardiC57] | | |--B. lasiusFS15 | | `--B. pauliFS15 | `--Nasua Storr 1780FS15, C57 [incl. Coati Lacépéde 1799C57, Cuati Liais 1872C57, Nasica South 1845C57] | | i. s.: N. nelsoniR84a | |--*N. nasua (Linné 1766)C57, FS15, C57 [=Viverra nasuaC57, Ursus nasuaC57] | | |--N. n. nasua (see below for synonymy)C57 | | |--N. n. aricana Vieira 1945C57 | | |--N. n. boliviensis Cabrera 1956C57 | | |--N. n. candace Thomas 1912 [incl. N. judex Thomas 1914]C57 | | |--N. n. cinerascens Lönnberg 1921C57 | | |--N. n. dorsalis Gray 1866 (see below for synonymy)C57 | | |--N. n. manium Thomas 1912 [incl. N. nasuta Tschudi 1844 (n. n.), N. rufina Tschudi 1844 (n. n.)]C57 | | |--N. n. montana Tschudi 1844C57 | | |--N. n. quichua Thomas 1901C57 | | |--N. n. solitaria Schinz 1823 (see below for synonymy)C57 | | `--N. n. vittata Tschusi 1844 [incl. N. candace dichromatica Tate 1939, N. phaeocephala Allen 1904]C57 | `--+--N. naricaFS15 | | |--N. n. naricaMB86 | | |--N. n. isthmicusG69 | | `--N. n. molaris Merriam 1902MB86 | `--Nasuella Hollister 1915FS5, C57 | `--N. olivacea (Gray 1863) [=Nasua olivacea]C57 | |--N. o. olivacea [incl. Nasua olivacea lagunetae Allen 1913, Nasuella olivacea lagunetae]C57 | |--*N. o. meridensis (Thomas 1901) [=Nasua olivacea meridensis]C57 | `--N. o. quitensis (Lönnberg 1913) [=Nasua olivacea quitensis]C57 `--+--BassariscusFS15 | |--B. astutusR84b | | |--B. a. astutusMB86 | | |--B. a. boleiG69 | | |--B. a. consitus Nelson & Goldman 1932MB86 | | |--B. a. flavus Rhoads 1894MB86 | | `--B. a. macdougalliG69 | `--B. sumichrastiR84b | |--B. s. sumichrastiG69 | |--B. s. campechensisG69 | |--B. s. latransG69 | `--B. s. oaxacensisG69 `--ProcyonFS15 | i. s.: P. gloveranniV84 | P. insularisV84 | |--P. i. insularisBP87 | `--P. i. vicinusBP87 | P. maynardiBP87 | P. minorV84 |--P. (Procyon) lotorG69, FS15 | |--P. l. lotorMB86 | |--P. l. hermandezii Wagler 1831MB86 | |--P. l. hirtus Nelson & Goldman 1930B75 | |--P. l. mexicanus Baird 1858MB86 | `--P. l. shufeldtiG69 `--+--P. (Euprocyon Gray 1864)C57 | `--P. (*E.) cancrivorus (Cuvier 1798)C57, FS15, C57 [=Ursus cancrivorusC57] | |--P. c. cancrivorusC57 | |--P. c. aequatorialis Allen 1915C57 | |--P. c. nigripes Mivart 1886 (see below for synonymy)C57 | |--P. c. panamensis (Goldman 1913) [=Eurocyon cancrivorus panamensis]C57 | `--P. c. proteus Allen 1904C57 `--P. pygmaeusFS15 Inorganic: Procyon lotor protominilorientalus Okamura 1987O87
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 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
Potos Geoffroy & Cuvier 1795FS15, C57 [incl. Aesurus Rafinesque 1815C57, Caudivolvulus Dumeril 1805C57, Cercoleptes Illiger 1811C57, Kinkajou Lacépède 1799C57]
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
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