Eastern lowland olingo

Eastern lowland olingo
Yambrasbamba, Bongará, Amazonas, Peru.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procyonidae
Genus: Bassaricyon
Species:
B. alleni
Binomial name
Bassaricyon alleni
Thomas, 1880
Black points mark the range of B. alleni[2]
Synonyms

Bassaricyon beddardi Pocock, 1921
Bassaricyon medius siccatus Thomas, 1927

The eastern lowland olingo (Bassaricyon alleni) is a species of olingo from South America, where it is known from the lowlands east of the Andes in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela.[1][3] It is the only olingo species found east of the Andes.[2] The Latin species name honors Joel Asaph Allen, the American zoologist who first described the genus Bassaricyon.[4]

Description[edit]

The eastern lowland olingo is smaller than the northern olingo, but larger than the recently described olinguito ("little olingo"), the most montane member of the genus.[2] It is larger than the western lowland olingo subspecies B. medius medius from west of the Andes, but about the same size as the B. m. orinomus subspecies from eastern Panama.[2] The pelage is slightly darker than the western species.[2]

It has a head-body length of 30 to 45 centimetres (12 to 18 in), with a tail length of 40 to 53 centimetres (16 to 21 in).[2] It weighs 1.1 to 1.5 kilograms (2.4 to 3.3 lb).[2]

Taxonomy[edit]

The closest relative of the eastern lowland olingo is the western lowland species, B. medius, from which it diverged about 1.3 million years ago.[2]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Helgen, K.; Kays, R.; Pinto, C.; Schipper, J. (2016). "Bassaricyon alleni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T48637566A45215534. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T48637566A45215534.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Helgen, K. M.; Pinto, M.; Kays, R.; Helgen, L.; Tsuchiya, M.; Quinn, A.; Wilson, D.; Maldonado, J. (2013-08-15). "Taxonomic revision of the olingos (Bassaricyon), with description of a new species, the Olinguito". ZooKeys (324): 1–83. doi:10.3897/zookeys.324.5827. PMC 3760134. PMID 24003317.
  3. ^ Bassaricyon alleni - Allen's Olingo Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine NatureServe.org
  4. ^ Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2009-09-28). The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0801893049. OCLC 270129903.