Eastern lowland olingo

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]

Eastern lowland olingo
César M. Aguilar Photo, ZooKeys.
Yambrasbamba, Bongará, Amazonas, Peru.
Scientific classification
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

Description

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

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
  1. Helgen, K.; Kays, R.; Pinto, C.; Schipper, J. (2016). "Bassaricyon alleni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T48637566A45215534. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T48637566A45215534.en. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  2. 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 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.


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