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The '''ringtail''' (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a [[mammal]] of the [[Procyonidae|raccoon family]] (thus not actually a [[cat]]), native to arid regions of [[Nearctic|North America]]. It is also known as the '''ringtail cat''', '''ring-tailed cat''', '''miner's cat''' or "marv cat", and is also sometimes mistakenly called a "[[civet|civet cat]]" (after similar, though unrelated, cat-like [[omnivore]]s of Asia and Africa). The ringtail is sometimes called a [[cacomistle]], though this term seems to be more often used to refer to ''[[cacomistle|Bassariscus sumichrasti]]''.
==Physical description==
The ringtail is buff to dark brown in color with white underparts and a flashy black and white striped tail that has 14–16 white and black stripes,<ref>{{cite web
| last = Lu | first = Julie
| title = The Biogeography of Ringtailed Cats
| publisher = San Francisco University
| url = http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Fall02%20projects/Ringtail.htm
| accessdate = December 2010
}}</ref> which is longer than the rest of its body. The claws are short, straight, and semi-retractable.<ref name="Poglayen-Neuwall-Toweill-1988">{{cite journal
| last1 = Poglayen-Neuwall | first1 = Ivo
| last2 = Toweill | first2 = Dale E.
| title = Bassariscus astutus
| journal = Mammalian Species | issue = 327 | year = 1988
| url = http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-327-01-0001.pdf
| doi = 10.2307/3504321
| pages = 1
}}</ref> The eyes are large and black, each surrounded by a patch of light fur. It is smaller than a [[cat|housecat]] and is one of the smallest extant [[procyonidae|procyonids]] (only the smallest in the [[olingo]] species group average smaller). It measures {{convert|30|–|42|cm|in|abbr=on}} long to the base of the tail with the tail adding another {{convert|31|–|44|cm|in|abbr=on}}. It can weigh from {{convert|0.7|to|1.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Hunter">Hunter, Luke (2011) ''Carnivores of the World'', Princeton University Press, ISBN 9780691152288</ref> Ringtails have occasionally been hunted for their [[Fur|pelt]]s, but the fur is not especially valuable.
==Range and habitat==
| 