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Glite Dictionary
Procyonidae

Procyonidae

9.9
A group of small to medium mammals like raccoons and coatis
  • noun
  • /ˌproʊsiˈoʊnɪˌdeɪ/
  • Specialized
: Procyonidae
  • The Procyonidae family includes various species like raccoons.

Examples

  • Raccoons are perhaps the most familiar representatives of the Procyonidae.

  • Raccoons belong to the family of mammals known as Procyonidae.

  • Research on Procyonidae helps scientists understand the evolution of small carnivorous mammals.

  • The Procyonidae family is known for its members' dexterous front paws and omnivorous diets.

  • Procyonids are fascinating creatures.

  • Scientists study Procyonidae to learn about the behavior and habitats of these unique animals.

  • The Procyonidae family includes well-known animals such as raccoons and kinkajous.

Surface Forms

Procyonidae singular
Procyonids plural

Morphology

Procyonidae = Procyon (opaque) = Procyon + idae

The element '-idae' is a specialized scientific suffix indicating a taxonomic family and 'Procyon' is a genus name, so the formation is unlikely to be meaningful to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Procyonidae comes from the Greek name Procyon, made of pro- 'before' and kyon 'dog', which first named a star as 'before the dog'. Scientists later used Procyon for the raccoon group, so Procyonidae means the family of animals that includes raccoons and their close relatives.