After
more than a decade of work, scientists have found a new carnivorous
mammal living in Ecuador. The animal is named the olinguito and is the
first new carnivorous species discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35
years.
It might have taken over 100 years, but the olinguito
has finally been identified and given a proper binomial name:
Bassaricyon neblina. Though olinguitos have been observed
in the wild, kept in zoos and been preserved in museum drawers for a
long time, they've always been described as olingos due to the animals'
similarities.
Both olinguitos and olingos measure around 35cm
(14 inches) long and weigh nearly a kilogram (2 lbs). They both belong
to the order Carnivora, a group that encompasses mammals such as dogs,
cats and bears. More specifically they belong to the same family as
racoons, Procyonidae.
Identification of the olinguito began a
decade ago when Kristofer Helgen was sorting olingo specimens in a
Chicago museum, hoping to determine how many species existed. While
sorting he noticed several skulls and skins seemed a bit unusual. DNA
testing and examination of specimens from other museums confirmed that
these remains were not from olungos.
Identifying new species
from museum specimens is exciting, but Helgen and his team had no idea
if olinguitos still existed in the wild. Had they identified a
now-extinct species? Using field reports and clues from the specimens,
the team were able to predict where olinguitos might be found and
restrict their search to the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia.
The team found the olingutios on the western slopes of the Andes and
recorded everything they could about this new carnivore. Olinguitos are
nocturnal, live at high elevations and eat mainly fruit, but also eats
birds and small mammals. They rarely leave the trees and produce a
single offspring at a time.
But as Helgen said in a statement,
giving the olinguito a name is just the beginning. "Proving that a
species exists and giving it a name is where everything starts. This is a
beautiful animal, but we know so little about it. How many countries
does it live in? What else can we learn about its behaviour? What do we
need to do to ensure its conservation?"
Photo credit: Mark Gurney.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://www.livescience.com/
http://newsdesk.si.edu/
After
more than a decade of work, scientists have found a new carnivorous
mammal living in Ecuador. The animal is named the olinguito and is the
first new carnivorous species discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35
years.
It might have taken over 100 years, but the olinguito has finally been identified and given a proper binomial name: Bassaricyon neblina. Though olinguitos have been observed in the wild, kept in zoos and been preserved in museum drawers for a long time, they've always been described as olingos due to the animals' similarities.
Both olinguitos and olingos measure around 35cm (14 inches) long and weigh nearly a kilogram (2 lbs). They both belong to the order Carnivora, a group that encompasses mammals such as dogs, cats and bears. More specifically they belong to the same family as racoons, Procyonidae.
Identification of the olinguito began a decade ago when Kristofer Helgen was sorting olingo specimens in a Chicago museum, hoping to determine how many species existed. While sorting he noticed several skulls and skins seemed a bit unusual. DNA testing and examination of specimens from other museums confirmed that these remains were not from olungos.
Identifying new species from museum specimens is exciting, but Helgen and his team had no idea if olinguitos still existed in the wild. Had they identified a now-extinct species? Using field reports and clues from the specimens, the team were able to predict where olinguitos might be found and restrict their search to the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia.
The team found the olingutios on the western slopes of the Andes and recorded everything they could about this new carnivore. Olinguitos are nocturnal, live at high elevations and eat mainly fruit, but also eats birds and small mammals. They rarely leave the trees and produce a single offspring at a time.
But as Helgen said in a statement, giving the olinguito a name is just the beginning. "Proving that a species exists and giving it a name is where everything starts. This is a beautiful animal, but we know so little about it. How many countries does it live in? What else can we learn about its behaviour? What do we need to do to ensure its conservation?"
Photo credit: Mark Gurney.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://www.livescience.com/
http://newsdesk.si.edu/
It might have taken over 100 years, but the olinguito has finally been identified and given a proper binomial name: Bassaricyon neblina. Though olinguitos have been observed in the wild, kept in zoos and been preserved in museum drawers for a long time, they've always been described as olingos due to the animals' similarities.
Both olinguitos and olingos measure around 35cm (14 inches) long and weigh nearly a kilogram (2 lbs). They both belong to the order Carnivora, a group that encompasses mammals such as dogs, cats and bears. More specifically they belong to the same family as racoons, Procyonidae.
Identification of the olinguito began a decade ago when Kristofer Helgen was sorting olingo specimens in a Chicago museum, hoping to determine how many species existed. While sorting he noticed several skulls and skins seemed a bit unusual. DNA testing and examination of specimens from other museums confirmed that these remains were not from olungos.
Identifying new species from museum specimens is exciting, but Helgen and his team had no idea if olinguitos still existed in the wild. Had they identified a now-extinct species? Using field reports and clues from the specimens, the team were able to predict where olinguitos might be found and restrict their search to the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia.
The team found the olingutios on the western slopes of the Andes and recorded everything they could about this new carnivore. Olinguitos are nocturnal, live at high elevations and eat mainly fruit, but also eats birds and small mammals. They rarely leave the trees and produce a single offspring at a time.
But as Helgen said in a statement, giving the olinguito a name is just the beginning. "Proving that a species exists and giving it a name is where everything starts. This is a beautiful animal, but we know so little about it. How many countries does it live in? What else can we learn about its behaviour? What do we need to do to ensure its conservation?"
Photo credit: Mark Gurney.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://www.livescience.com/
http://newsdesk.si.edu/
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