Cozumel Island Raccoon
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| Procyon pygmaeus (Merriam, 1901) |
The Cozumel Island Raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus), also known as the Cozumel Raccoon Bear or Pygmy Raccoon, is an endangered species confined to Cozumel Island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.<ref name="IUCN">Mustelid Specialist Group (1996). Procyon pygmaeus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 3 December 2006.</ref>
In 1901, Clinton Hart Merriam first described the Cozumel Island Raccoon as a distinct species from its mainland relative, Procyon lotor shufeldti, based on a number of morphological traits. Merriam described it as being markedly smaller, both externally and cranially and easy to distinguish from the Common Raccoon because of its "broad black throat band and golden yellow tail, short posteriorly expanded and rounded nasals and peculiarities of the teeth".<ref name="Merriam">Merriam, C. H. 1901. Six new mammals from Cozumel Island, Yucatan. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 14:99-104.</ref>
The Cozumel Island Raccoon is, unlike the West Indian raccoons, morphologically distinctive <ref name="Helgen2003">Helgen, K.M. & Wilson, D.E. 2003. "Taxonomic status and conservation relevance of the raccoons (Procyon spp.) of the West Indies". Journal of Zoology 259: 69-76.</ref> This island species' weight is only 3-4 kg.<ref name="Perry">Perry, B. 2005. Cozumel Island Raccoon. American Zoo and Aquarium Association's Small Carnivore Website. Retrieved on 3 December 2006.</ref>
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