Bassariscus, Procyon, Amphicyon and Arctictis

Bassariscus astutus (originally Bassaris Lichtenstein 1830, Coues 1887, smaller than a housecat) is the extant ringtail, a nocturnal raccoon relative. The ankle joint is able to rotate over 180 degrees, typical of arboreal primitive mammals. The orbits are more lateral in orientation. Young are born helpless. Lifespan is 7 years. Skull elements are fused. The jugal does not extend posteriorly.

Procyon lotor (Linneaus 1758, up to 40 cm in length, Pliocene, 10 mya to present) is the common raccoon from North America. It has digitigrade fore feet and plantigrade hind feet. It is an omnivore among carnivores.

Meerkat and raccoon Procyon and Suritcata

Arctictis binturong (Raffles 1822, up 90cm svl = a 75cm tail) is the extant binturong, a vivverid close to the bear-dog, Amphicyon. A prehensile tail, as in Nandinia, is retained. The vomers separate the palatal maxillae. Two or three molars are present.

Amphicyon idoneus (YPM VP.013134) was originally considered a bear dog.

Amphicyon longiramus (Lartet 1836, Blainville 1841; Mid-Miocene to Pliocene, 16–9mya; up to 2.5m) is the wide ranging bone-crushing, bear-dog. This is a wastebasket taxon with some specimens (A. longiramus) related to dogs, others (A. galushi) related to hyaenas, while still others (lower right above) nesting between Arctyocyon and Thylacinus.

Amphicyon galushai (Hunt 2003) is a sister to the extant binturong, Arctictis, in the LRT, both nesting with arboreal carnivores like Eofelis.

Blainville H 1841. Osteographie et description iconographique comparée du squelette et du systéme dentaire des cinq classes d’animaux vertébrés récents et fossiles. Vol. 6, Carnassiers. Paris: Arthus Bertrand.

Coues E 1887. Bassariscus, a new generic name in mammalogy. Science. 9 (225): 516.

Hunt RM Jr 2003. Intercontinental Migration of Large Mammalian Carnivores: Earliest Occurrence of the Old World Beardog Amphicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) in North America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 279: 77–115.

Lartet E. 1836. Nomenclature des mammiféres et des coquilles qu’il a trouve´s dans un terrain d’eau douce prés de Simorre et de Sansan (Gers). Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 7: 217–220.

Lichtenstein 1830. Abh. König. Akad. Wiss., Berlin vol.1827 p.119

Linnaeus C von 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.

Raffles TS 1822. XVII. Descriptive Catalogue of a Zoological Collection, made on account of the Honourable East India Company, in the Island of Sumatra and its Vicinity, under the Direction of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Fort Marlborough, with additional Notices illustrative of the Natural History of those Countries. The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. XIII: 239–274.

wiki/Procyon
wiki/Arctictis
wiki/Bassaricus
wiki/Ringtail