The Barbados raccoon (''Procyon lotor gloveralleni'') is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...

of the

common raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of . ...

(''Procyon lotor''), that was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc be ...

until 1964.

Classification

In 1950,

Edward Alphonso Goldman Edward Alphonso Goldman (July 7, 1873 – September 2, 1946) was an American zoologist and botanist. He worked extensively in Mexico with Edward William Nelson and described and revised many groups of mammals. He was born Edward Alphonso Goltman i ...

identified the Barbados raccoon as a distinct species, a classification that has been challenged over the past years by other scientists, who assume that it was a

of the

. This assumption was supported by a study of its morphological and genetic analysis in 2003 by Kristofer M. Helgen and

Don E. Wilson Don Ellis Wilson (born April 30, 1944 in Davis, Oklahoma) is an American zoologist. His main research field is mammalogy, especially the group of bats which he studied in 65 countries around the world. Career Wilson spent his childhood and yout ...

, which indicated that the Barbados raccoon was introduced by humans just a few centuries ago. The study yielded the same result for the probably closely related subspecies

Guadeloupe raccoon The Guadeloupe raccoon (''Procyon lotor minor'') is a common raccoon subspecies endemic to the two main islands (Basse-Terre Island and Grande-Terre) of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles. Classification Though thought in the past to be a dist ...

and Bahaman raccoon also living on

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

islands. Therefore, the Barbados raccoon is listed as a subspecies of the common raccoon in the third edition of ''

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...

'' published in 2005.

Description

Compared to an average sized common raccoon the Barbados raccoon is small, making it an example of

insular dwarfism Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of large animals evolving or having a reduced body size when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is disti ...

. The Barbados raccoon

bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the No ...

resemblance to the

, for example in the short and delicate skull and the dark gray coat with a slight ocher tint on the neck and shoulders. Similarly, only few

guard hair Guard hair or overhair is the outer layer of hair of most mammals, which overlay the fur. Guard hairs are long and coarse and protect the rest of the pelage (fur) from abrasion and frequently from moisture. They are visible on the surface of the fu ...

s cover the ground hairs on the underparts. The mask is continuous across the face.

Extinction

In 1996, the Barbados raccoon was classified as

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

since its last sighting occurred in 1964, when one specimen was killed by a car on a road near

Bathsheba Bathsheba ( or ; he, בַּת־שֶׁבַע, ''Baṯ-šeḇaʿ'', Bat-Sheva or Batsheva, "daughter of Sheba" or "daughter of the oath") was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, according to the Hebrew Bible. She was the mother of ...

. The only mounted specimen is exhibited at the Barbados Museum in the

Garrison Historic Area St. Ann's Garrison, or more commonly known as "The Garrison", is a small district located in the country of Barbados. This Garrison Historic Area is situated about 2 miles south of Heroes Square in the capital-city Bridgetown, and just west of ...

. According to a report of the IUCN in 1994, a pair of another species of raccoon has been introduced to

. Considering its small range, the Barbados raccoon was most likely never numerous except for the southern parts of the island.

Habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

due to

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

was probably one of the main causes for its extinction.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q790279 Procyonidae Mammals of Barbados Endemic fauna of Barbados Extinct animals of Barbados Mammals of the Caribbean Taxa named by Edward William Nelson Taxa named by Edward Alphonso Goldman

Classification

Description

Extinction

See also

References