How many species are in the raccoon genus Procyon?
Answer
three
The raccoon genus Procyon contains three living species: the common raccoon, crab-eating raccoon, and Cozumel raccoon.
The common raccoon (Procyon lotor) ranges from southern Canada through Central America and has also been introduced elsewhere. The crab-eating raccoon (P. cancrivorus) lives from Costa Rica through much of South America, while the much rarer Cozumel raccoon (P. pygmaeus) is restricted to Cozumel Island off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
The number is sometimes confused because several island populations were formerly treated as separate species. Modern classifications generally regard forms such as the Barbados, Nassau, and Guadeloupe raccoons as subspecies or populations rather than additional living Procyon species.
Procyon is part of the raccoon family, Procyonidae. Despite their bear-like appearance and “washing bear” names in several languages, raccoons are carnivorans more closely related to ringtails and cacomistles than to bears.