Preliminary review of the Procyonidae family in Colombia

Abstract

The Procyonidae family is a member of the order Carnivora. It distributes along the American continent, from South Canada to North Argentina; Colombia has in its territory seven species of this family. This paper presents a taxonomic key to differentiate the species of procyonids in Colombia, and a preliminary map of their distribution. The key and the distribution map, were based on the analysis of 67 individuals of the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales collection in Bogotá, 78 of the Instituto Alexander von Humboltd collection in Villa de Leyva and a literature review. The results show a taxonomic key of cranial and external characters for the species identification of the Procionidae family in Colombia and a preliminary distribution of their species.

Keywords

• Clave Taxonómica
• Colombia
• Distribución
• Procyonidae