| Olinguito | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Range | Andes of Western Colombia and Ecuador. |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Procyonidae |
| Genus | Bassaricyon |
| Species | B. neblina |
The Olinguito, (Bassaricyon neblina), is a mammal of the genus Bassaricyon in the family Procyonidae that lives in montane forests in the Andes of western Colombia and Ecuador.
Description[]
The olinguito is distinct from the other species within the genus, popularly known as "olingos", and also from the kinkajou (kinkajous resemble olingos, but are not closely related). Its average weight is 900 grams (2 lb), making it the smallest procyonid. The animal is an omnivorous frugivore that eats mainly fruits (such as figs), but also insects and nectar resulting in feces the size of small blueberries. The olinguito is thought to be solitary, nocturnal and moderately reclusive. Olinguitos appear to be strictly arboreal. They have a single pair of mammae, and probably produce a single offspring at a time.
Distribution and Habitat[]
Specimens of the species have been identified from the Andean cloud forest stretching from western Colombia to Ecuador. Its discovery was confirmed in the wild and announced on August 15 2013. The species is not considered to be immediately at risk, but it is estimated that over 40 percent of the animal's potential range has been deforested.
Discovery[]
Its discovery was announced on August 15 2013 by Kristofer Helgen, the curator of mammals at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History olingo expert Roland Kays of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and collaborators. Helgen discovered specimens of the species in storage at The Field Museum in Chicago and used DNA testing to confirm a new species.
The researchers who identified the species were unable to discover any local names specific to it.
The discovery was the first identification of a new mammal species of the order Carnivora in the Americas in 35 years. Olinguitos were regularly seen and even publicly exhibited decades before they were recognized as members of a new species. The animal had previously been confused with its taxonomic cousins, the olingos. One such example was Ringerl, an olinguito who lived in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., for a year and also toured many other zoos. Researchers unsuccessfully tried to breed her with olingos, not realizing she was a different species. Ringerl died in 1976.