On the female organs and placentation of the racoon ( Procyon lotor )

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 1881
• Subjects: Phoca vitulina
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1881.0028; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspl.1881.0028

Of late years our knowledge concerning the form and structure of the placenta, as well as of the arrangement of the fœtal membranes in various species of mammals has been much extended through the researches of Milne-Edwards, Ercolani, Turner, and others. The observations of these anatomists have not been confined to the placentation of any one group, but extend to that of species belonging to every Mammalian order. Among these orders that of the Carnivora has received a not inconsiderable share of attention, not only from the observers just named, but also from those among whom may be mentioned the names of Daubenton, Von Baer, Bischoff, and others who appeared earlier in the field. Among the members of the fissiped group of Carnivora, the placenta or fœtal membranes, or both, have been described in the marten ( Martes domestica ), stone marten ( Mustela foina ), pine marten ( Mustela martes ), weasel ( Mustela vulgaris ), ferret ( Mustela furo ), bitch ( Canis familiaris ), fox ( Canis vulpes ), cat ( Felis domestica ), lioness ( Felis leo ), hyæna ( sp . ?), and otter ( Lutra vulgaris ), whils among the pinnipeds we find that the placentation has been examined in Phoca vitulina , Phoca bicolor , Halichærusus gryphus , as well as in two seals, the species of which were not determined. It will be observed that in this list, which, so far as I can ascertain, contains the names of all the carnivorous mammals the placentation of which has been investigated, that of the racoon ( Procyon lotor ) does not occur. This is the more remarkable, inasmuch as the racoon is one of the mammals which most frequently finds a place in our collections, and one which apparently thrives well under artificial conditions of existence. At the same time, as occurs so frequently in the case of wild animals kept in a state of captivity, the generative functions of the racoon appear almost constantly to remain in abeyance. Mr. Bartlett, the skilful superintendent of the menagerie of the Zoological Society of London, however, in answer to ...