Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
PROCYONIDAE - RACCOONS AND ALLIES
Two distinctive species belonging to the subfamily Procyoninae. Both species are ring-tailed with dark facial masks and a pointed snout. They are plantigrades with 5 digits on each foot, the third digit being the longest. The feet are small, the hands being flexible enough to adeptly manipulate foodstuffs and the claws are short and curved. Incisors are unspecialized and the small premolars are pointed. The molars are broad, lacking the shearing edges of other carnivores. The pelage is dense. The Paraguayan members of this family are predominately terrestrial but are good climbers and raise their young in arboreal nests.
REFERENCES
Diaz MM & Barquez RM 2002 - Los Mamíferos de Jujuy, Argentina - LOLA
Emmons LH & Feer F 1999 - Mamíferos de los Bosques Húmedos de América Tropical - FAN Bolivia
Redford K 1992 - Mammals of the Neotropics Vol 2: The Southern Cone Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - University of Chicago Press.
