Olinguito is First Carnivore Discovered in Americas in 35 Years
Posted on August 15, 2013
The Olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina) is the first carnivore discovered in the Americas in 35 years. The 2-pound tree dwelling creature has large eyes and woolly orange-brown fur. It is native to the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and leader of the team reporting the new discovery, said in a release, "The discovery of the olinguito shows us that the world is not yet completely explored, its most basic secrets not yet revealed. If new carnivores can still be found, what other surprises await us? So many of the world's species are not yet known to science. Documenting them is the first step toward understanding the full richness and diversity of life on Earth."
The olinguito was first identified through a skeleton at Chicago's Field Museum before being discovered in the wild by researchers. It is mostly active at night. It is a carnivore, but it is mainly a fruit eater. The little olinguito rarely comes out of the trees and has one baby at a time.
A research paper about the olinguito was published here in ZooKeys.