Cozumel Mammals

Cozumel is a small island just off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico

. It's now known as a top vacation spot; there are resorts and hotels all over the coastline. But before that, it was a Maya holy site, and before that an isolated landscape home to several unique animals. Without the large mainland gene pool, Cozumel's animals are their own subspecies. Here are two of them.

The Cozumel Island raccoon is only found on the mangrove forests on the northwest tip of Cozumel island. Only about 300 individuals are estimated to be alive in the world; they are critically endangered, in part because of their tiny range. They are much smaller than common raccoons; when animals are confined to a very small, limited environment like an island, the evolutionary process of insular dwarfism occurs. After thousands of years and a small gene pool, the animal may shrink in size in comparison to their mainland cousins. It's estimated that the Cozumel island raccoon diverged from regular raccoons between 26,000 and 69,000 years ago, but there are no known fossils that could help verify the exact date range.

Cozumel raccoons were first described in 1901; archeological evidence shows that the Maya residents of the island often had contact with the diminutive creatures. Their size is a primary identifying marker; adults range from 23 inches to 32 inches, and weigh between 6.5 and 9 pounds. Overall, they're about 18% shorter and 45% lighter than the common mainland raccoon. Aside from the size difference, Cozumel raccoons have small teeth, a more rounded snout, and yellow fur on their tails; on the scruff of their necks, males are also known to have a patch of bright orange fur. Cozumel raccoons eat frogs, fruit, and some insects, but crabs comprise over half of their diet, depending on the season. This preference for crabs is a major factor in why their habitat is so limited. During the wet seasons, they rely more on fruits and vegetables, as they become more abundant. Raccoons are solitary and primarily nocturnal, though mothers may travel in family groups with their cubs.

The coati is a mammal that is distantly related to raccoons and kinkajous. Inhabiting the mainland forests of Central and South America, the white-nosed coati has a range that extends all the way into Arizona. It also has an island subspecies: the aptly named Cozumel coati. This subspecies is smaller than the mainland coatis, though there is not as much of a size difference as there is between the mainland and island raccoons. The island coatis may have been a recent introduction to the islands, likely by Maya residents. The Cozumel coati is an enigma; it's thought that they are similarly endangered. Like the mainland coatis, they are opportunistic omnivores; they'll eat small vertebrates, fruits, insects, carrion, and even eggs.

by: Robert Nickel

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