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The raccoon (/ r ə ˈ k uː n / or US: / r æ ˈ k uː n / ⓘ, Procyon lotor), also spelled racoon [3] and sometimes called the common raccoon or northern raccoon to distinguish it from the other species, is a mammal native to North America.
Thought in the past to be a distinct species, the Guadeloupe raccoon is a subspecies of the common raccoon (Procyon lotor), according to two studies in 1999 and 2003.The study of its morphological and genetic traits done in 2003 by Kristofer M. Helgen and Don E. Wilson indicated that the Guadeloupe raccoon was introduced by humans just a few centuries ago.
A common example of homologous structures is the forelimbs of vertebrates, where the wings of bats and birds, the arms of primates, the front flippers of whales, and the forelegs of four-legged vertebrates like horses and crocodilians are all derived from the same ancestral tetrapod structure.
In the horizontal direction, the structures are homologous in their morphology, or anatomy, but different in their function due to differences in habitat. In the vertical direction, the structures are analogous in function due to similar lifestyles of organisms but anatomically different since they are part of different groups.
Image credits: raccoonsfun Technically, raccoons are considered to be pests. They intrude on people’s homes or backyards to find food. They enter homes through chimneys, gaps in roofs, and other ...
Homologous structures - structures (body parts/anatomy) which are similar in different species because the species have common descent and have evolved, usually divergently, from a shared ancestor. They may or may not perform the same function. An example is the forelimb structure shared by cats and whales.
The clades leading to coatis and olingos on one branch, and to ringtails and raccoons on the other, separated about 17.7 Ma ago. [14] The divergence between olingos and coatis is estimated to have occurred about 10.2 Ma ago, [14] at about the same time that ringtails and raccoons parted ways.
All vertebrate forelimbs are homologous, meaning that they all evolved from the same structures. For example, the flipper of a turtle or of a dolphin, the arm of a human, the foreleg of a horse, and the wings of both bats and birds are ultimately homologous, despite the large differences between them. [1]