Procyon lotor (Raccoon Skull Fossil)
Phylum Chordata; Class Mammalia; Order Carnivora; Family Procyonidae
Geological Time: Holocene to Pleistocene
Size: Skull: 115 mm long, 70 mm high, 65 mm across
Fossil Site: Bonner Springs, Kansas
 This
skull comes from the Raccoon known as Procyon lotor, the same species
as is extant today. Raccoons are well recognized today based upon
their black-masked faces, looking for all the world like some nocturnal
bandit. They are typically found near water to which they require
ready access. This skull comes from a series of river terrace deposits
near Bonner Springs, Kansas.  These
specimens are found as drifts on the river banks and sand bars, and
as such have possibly been reworked from older deposits. They are
found in association with bison, mammoths, mastodons, muskoxen, deer,
peccary, short-faced bears, and others. Most of them have been dated
as Rancholabrean Stage in age, and are so about 10,000 years old.
Specimens of bison have ranged from 8,000 to 35,000 years in age which
provides a viable estimate of the age. It is fully articulated, and
a dramatic display or study specimen. |
