In the first decades after its discovery by the members of the expedition of Christopher Columbus, who was the first person to leave a written record about the species, taxonomists thought the raccoon was related to many different species, including dogs, cats, badgers and particularly bears.
Nas primeiras décadas despois do descubrimento deste animal polos membros da expedición de Cristóbal Colón, que foi a primeira persoa que deixou rexistro escrito sobre a especie, os taxonomistas pensaron que o mapache estaba relacionado con diferentes especies, como os cans, gatos, teixugos e especialmente cos osos.