Procyon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, family Procyonidae, order Carnivora, comprising three living species commonly known as raccoons, along with four extinct species known from the fossil record. The common raccoon, Procyon lotor, is by far the best known member and ranges from southern Canada to Panama, having also been introduced to Europe and Japan; the other two living species, the crab-eating raccoon of Central and South America east of the Andes and the Cozumel raccoon endemic to Cozumel Island off Mexico's Yucatan coast, are far less familiar. Genetic research indicates raccoons' closest living relatives diverged from the genus roughly ten million years ago. Raccoons have non-opposable thumbs that nonetheless let them open many closed containers, are omnivorous with a reputation for cleverness and mischief, measure 20 to 40 inches in length and weigh 10 to 35 pounds, and have plantigrade hindfeet resembling those of humans and bears, an adaptation that has helped the common raccoon thrive alongside its wild habitat in urban environments.