''Bassariscus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Procyonidae Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It comprises the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Character ...

. There are two extant species in the genus: the

ring-tailed cat The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the Procyonidae, raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well adapted to disturbed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. It is listed a ...

or ringtail (''B. astutus'') and the

cacomistle The cacomistle (; ''Bassariscus sumichrasti'') is a nocturnal, arboreal and omnivorous member of the carnivoran family Procyonidae. Its preferred habitats are wet, tropical, evergreen woodlands and mountain forests, though seasonally it will ve ...

(''B. sumichrasti''). Genetic studies have indicated that the closest relatives of ''Bassariscus'' are

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 ...

s, from which they diverged about 10 million years ago in the

Tortonian The Tortonian is in the geologic time scale an age or stage of the late Miocene that spans the time between 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma and 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Serravallian and is followed by the Messinian. The Torton ...

Age of the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

. The two lineages of ''Bassariscus'' are thought to have separated after only another two million years, making it the extant procyonid genus with the earliest diversification. Later diversification in the genus in the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

saw the emergence of two extinct species, ''

Bassariscus casei ''Bassariscus'' is a genus in the family Procyonidae. There are two extant species in the genus: the ring-tailed cat or ringtail (''B. astutus'') and the cacomistle (''B. sumichrasti''). Genetic studies have indicated that the closest relatives of ...

'' and ''

Bassariscus sonoitensis ''Bassariscus'' is a genus in the family Procyonidae. There are two extant species in the genus: the ring-tailed cat or ringtail (''B. astutus'') and the cacomistle (''B. sumichrasti''). Genetic studies have indicated that the closest relatives of ...

'', respectively. Due to the more digitigrade stance of their legs compared to the plantigrade stance of other members of Procyonidae, some taxonomies place the genus as a separate family, ''Bassaricidae.''. The name is a Greek word for fox ("bassaris") with a Latinized diminutive ending ("-iscus"). The genus was first described by

Elliott Coues Elliott Ladd Coues (; September 9, 1842 – December 25, 1899) was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist, and author. He led surveys of the Arizona Territory, and later as secretary of the United States Geological and Geographic ...

in 1887. He proposed the word "bassarisk" as the English term for animals in this genus. Its

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

includes semi-arid areas in the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

, the whole of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, as well as moist tropical forests in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Species

References

External links

* Procyonidae Mammal genera Taxa named by Elliott Coues {{carnivora-stub