Olingos, Bassaricyon, are
small members of the Racoon family, Procyonidae, found in Central and South
America. They are not well understood, as they live in the canopy of dense
forests where they are not easily observed, and are easily mistaken for the
related Kinkajou, Potos flavus.
In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 15 August 2013, a
team of scientists led by Kristofer Helgen of the Division of Mammals at the
National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC describe a new species of
Olingo from the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
The new species is named Bassaricyon
neblina, which means ‘fog’ or ‘mist’ in Spanish, a reference to the cloud
forests where it lives; Helgen et al.
also suggest the common name Olinguito, meaning ‘Little Olingo’. The species
was discovered during a genetic study intended to determine the relationships
between the four previously described species of Olingo and other members of
the Racoon Family, using DNA from museum specimens.
Surprisingly, despite all the specimens referred to the new species
having previously been assigned to other species, the new species emerged as a
distinct lineage, which was the sister group to all the other species (i.e. all
the other species were more closely related to one another than to the new
species). More surprisingly still, all the specimens found to belong to the new
species were found to have been collected in cloud forests at altitudes of
1500-2750 m, while all the other specimens were from below 2000 m, suggesting
a clear difference in habitat preference. They were also smaller and more slender
than members of other species, with darker coats.
The Olinguito, Bassaricyon
neblina, in life, in the wild. Taken at Tandayapa BirdLodge, Ecuador. MarkGurney
in Helgen et al. (2013).
The Olinguito is found in cloud forests between 1500 m and 2750 m in
montane cloud forests on the slopes of the Western and Central Andes in
Colombia and Western Andes in Ecuador.
Distribution map for Bassaricyon neblina. Helgen et
al. (2013).
See also…
Glyptondonts were large, heavily armored mammals related to Armadillos
that evolved first appeared in South America in the Miocene, spread to
North America in the Pliocene and became extinct at about the same time...
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