Metabolic Adaptation to Climate and Distribution of the Raccoon Procyon Lotor and Other Procyonidae

Our general hypothesis was that whereas most contemporary procyonids have retained the metabolic characteristics of their warm-adapted ancestors, Procyon lotor possesses a different set of adaptations, which either evolved as characteristics unique to this species or were acquired from its ancestral stock. In either case, its unique adaptations have given Procyon lotor the physiological flexibility to generalize its use of habitats and climates and expand its geographic distribution to a much greater extent than other procyonids.