New omnivorous mammal species describe in the Americas!

An omnivorous mammal species found in the Americas was recently described – the first new omnivorous mammal species to be described in 35 years!   The olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina), a member of the raccoon family (Procyonidae), is indigenous the high-altitude cloud forests of Ecuador and Columbia (map below).  

(Olinguito habitat range (red) and sitings (black dots)
by National Museum of Natural History, via Smithsonian.com)

(Olinguito by Mark Gurney via Smithsonian.com)

The mystery specimen:

("A comparison of olinguito skulls (far right) with those of other
olingos shows their smaller size and slightly different shape."
By Lauren Helgen via Smithsonian.com)

Kristofer Helgen and his team at the Smithsonian National Museum stumbled upon the new species as they worked with clarify known species of olingos (Bassaricyon spp.).  The mysterious specimens differed compared to know species in their fur color (reddish vs. grey), fur length (long vs. short, comparatively), and the elevations at which the specimens were collected (high vs. low).  Olinguitos are also smaller than their olingos kin - hence, their suffix–“ito”, translating as "little" in Spanish. 

To the field!

(Andes Cloud Forest by Slack12 via Flickr CC)

Kristofer Helgen and colleagues observed this new species in its native cloud forest habitat, where they learned it is primarily nocturnal and arboreal, with a diet comprised largely of tree fruit and some insects.  Read more about this neat species at Smithsonian.com.

 

(Andes cloud forest by D. J. Rosen via Flickr CC)