Raccoon

Raccoons (lat. Procyon) - genus of carnivorous mammals of the family coonskin. Members of the genus - the inhabitants of America. In Eurasia, and in particular, in Russia only been introduced species - a raccoon-poloskun.



In Russia, the raccoon was originally known for skins, called "genettovymi fur" because animal with a striped tail like Genet. Later this name became "genotype" or raccoon. English name raccoon, borrowed and some other languages, comes from pouhatanskogo language - one of the languages ​​of the American Indians, where a raccoon named ärähkun, from ärähkuněm, which means "hand scraped", in many European and Asian languages ​​raccoon literally called "bear-poloskun "," washing bear. " Latin (Greek origin) name Procyon means "before-dog", "before the dog", also called the star Procyon in the constellation Canis Minor.