Olinguito

Andean Makibär ( Bassaricyon neblina )

The Andean Makibär ( Bassaricyon neblina ), also referred to as Olinguito ( Small Makibär, of Spanish Olingo for Makibär ), is a Kleinbär from the kind of Makibären ( Bassaricyon ). He is closely related to the Makibär ( Bassaricyon alleni ), but differs genetically from this article The Andean Makibär was recognized as a distinct species in 2006 by the U.S. zoologist Kristofer Helgen and 2013 scientifically described. The distribution are the Andes in Ecuador and Colombia.

Features

The Andean Makibär reached a size of 32 to 40 cm, a tail length of 33 cm to 43 cm and a weight from 0,75 to 1.1 kg. He is generally similar Makibären, but is smaller and has a longer, more dense and lively colored fur. In Ecuador, the Makibären have a light brown fur with black tips. In Colombia, the animals are reddish brown. The tail is not curled striking. In good light the merry-go pattern, however, is sometimes seen. The Andean Makibär has a pair of teats and pulls only one young at once.

Subspecies and their distribution

There are n ruber distinguish the four subspecies Bassaricyon neblina neblina, B. n osborni, B. and B. n hershkovitzi. A female of the nominate was killed in 1923 by George Henry Hamilton Tate in 2130 m altitude in Las Máquinas in the province of Pichincha in Ecuador, located in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The specimen, which was previously thought to be a Makibären, since 2013, the type specimen of this kind Additional copies of the nominate were discovered in 2006 by Kristofer Helgen and Miguel Pinto in the Cotopaxi province at altitudes of 1800 m, 2100 m, 2260 m and 2300 m and collected. The other three subspecies are from different regions of the Colombian Andes. B. n osborni comes on the eastern slopes of the western Andes and the Central Andes, as n hershkovitzi on the eastern slopes of the central Andes and as before n ruber on the western slopes of the western Andes in Colombia.

Habitat

The habitat of the Andean cloud forests Makibären comprises the northern Andes in Colombia and Ecuador, in 1500 to 2750 meters above sea level, while the other Makibären ( Olingos ) only occur up to 2000 m in altitude.

Way of life

The lifestyle of the Andean Makibären is been explored very little. He is nocturnal and arboreal. The species feeds omnivorous; there is usually a diet of fruits, especially wild figs, but also from nectar and insects.

Status

The Andean Makibär is currently not covered by the IUCN. An immediate danger is, however, from deforestation, are affected by the 40 percent of his alleged distribution area.

Discovery history

The discovery of the Andean Makibären is a decades-long confusion ahead with the Makibären. 1923 caught the first time, Kristofer Helgen 2006 identified through the review of museum specimens originating from Colombia, that Andean Makibär differs mainly by its size, as well as a smaller and differently shaped skull and a denser fur from Makibären. In the same year Helgen traveled to the province of Cotopaxi in Ecuador, where he could catch more specimens of this species, which today are located in Chicago 's Field Museum of Natural History. A DNA analysis, the published Helgen on August 15, 2013 in the Journal ZooKeys, finally provided evidence that it actually is a newly discovered species in the Andean Makibären. It was also known that a female named Ringerl that until his death in 1976 at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC lived, was also a Andean Makibär, and not, as first thought, a Makibär. Pairings between Ringerl and Makibärmännchen in the zoos of Louisville ( Kentucky), Tucson, Salt Lake City, Washington DC and New York City were also unsuccessful. 2009, the taxon as an unnamed species ( n Bassaricyon sp.) Described in the Handbook of the Mammals of the World shortly. It is the first newly discovered carnivore species in the Western Hemisphere since the Colombian weasel (Mustela felipei ) in 1978.