Bassaricyon

Olingos are small animals. They are like raccoons. They live in rainforests. These forests are in Central and South America.

They like to live in trees. They are active at night. This means they sleep during the day.

They look like kinkajous. But they have different faces. Their noses are longer. They also have scent glands.

Some olingos live in the Andes. These are high mountains.

Scientists found a new kind in 2006. It is called an olinguito. It is a very special find.

Olingos are small animals from the raccoon family. They live in the rainforests of Central and South America. These animals are arboreal. This means they live in trees. They are also nocturnal. This means they are active at night.

Olingos look a lot like kinkajous. But they are not the same. Olingos have longer noses. They also have scent glands. These glands let out smells.

Scientists study how these animals changed over time. This is called evolution. Long ago, olingos moved from Central America to South America. This move was part of the Great American Interchange.

One kind of olingo is the olinguito. A scientist named Kristofer Helgen found it in 2006. He found it in the Andes mountains of Ecuador. He shared his work in 2013.

Olingos are hard to find in zoos. People often mistake them for kinkajous. Some experts think there are five types of olingos. Other experts think there are only two or even one.

Olingos are small animals from the raccoon family. They are also called procyonids. These creatures live in the rainforests of Central and South America. You can find them from Nicaragua all the way to Peru. They live in trees and are active at night. This is called being nocturnal. They live in many places from sea level up to high mountains.

Olingos look very much like kinkajous. They share many habits and body shapes. However, they are not the same animal. Olingos have longer noses than kinkajous. They also have scent glands to make smells. They do not have tails that can grab branches. They also lack tongues that can stretch out.

Scientists have worked hard to study these animals. For a long time, people only knew about the northern olingo. This is the species called B. gabbii. In 2006, a scientist named Kristofer Helgen found a new kind. He found it at Las Maquinas in the Andes of Ecuador. He named it B. neblina, or the olinguito. He shared his findings on August 15, 2013.

There is a lot of debate about how many species exist. Some experts say there are five different types. They include B. pauli in their list. Other experts say there are only two species. Some even think there is just one single species. Genetic studies show that coatis are the closest relatives to olingos. The two groups split apart about 10.2 million years ago.

Olingos changed over a very long time through evolution. This started about 3.5 million years ago. The B. neblina branched off first. Then, B. gabbii split off about 1.8 million years ago. The lowland species B. alleni and B. medius split 1.3 million years ago. They likely moved from Central America to South America. This happened during the Great American Interchange.

The genus *Bassaricyon* consists of small Neotropical procyonids. These animals are popularly known as olingos. They are close relatives of the raccoon. Olingos live in the rainforests of Central and South America. Their range extends from Nicaragua to Peru. These creatures are arboreal, meaning they live in trees. They are also nocturnal, so they are active at night. They live at many elevations. This includes areas from sea level up to high mountains.

Olingos share many physical traits with kinkajous. Both animals have similar body shapes and habits. However, they are not the same kind of animal. Olingos have more extended muzzles than kinkajous. They also possess anal scent glands. Unlike kinkajous, olingos lack prehensile tails. A prehensile tail is one that can grasp objects. They also lack extrudable tongues. This means their tongues cannot stretch out. Because of these similarities, olingos are often misidentified as kinkajous in zoos.

Scientists disagree on how many species belong in this genus. Some taxonomists, who study the naming of animals, split them into five species. This group includes *B. pauli*. Other experts believe there are only two species. They suggest dropping *B. medius* and *B. neblina* from the list. Some researchers think there is only one single species, *B. gabbii*. For a long time, only the northern olingo, *B. gabbii*, was well-known. It was often simply called "the olingo."

A major discovery happened recently in the Andes of Ecuador. In 2006, Kristofer Helgen found a previously unrecognized olingo at Las Maquinas. This animal was similar to *B. alleni* but distinct. Helgen named this species *B. neblina*, or the olinguito. He presented his findings on August 15, 2013. He and his coworkers used many types of data. They looked at anatomy and morphometrics, which is the study of shape and size. They also used nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Finally, they used field observations and geographic range modeling.

Genetic studies help us understand how olingos evolved. The closest relatives to olingos are actually coatis. The two groups diverged about 10.2 million years ago. This happened during the Tortonian age. Kinkajous are a much older lineage. They split from other procyonids about 22.6 million years ago during the Aquitanian age. The similarity between olingos and kinkajous is an example of parallel evolution. This occurs when different animals evolve similar traits independently.

The diversification of the olingo genus began about 3.5 million years ago. First, *B. neblina* branched off from the other species. Then, *B. gabbii* split off about 1.8 million years ago. The two lowland species, *B. alleni* and *B. medius*, diverged about 1.3 million years ago. These changes happened as the ancestors of olingos moved into South America. This movement was part of the Great American Interchange. This event allowed animals to move between the two continents.

The history of the olingo is quite different from the kinkajou. Kinkajous likely arose in Central America. They lived there long before they reached South America. In contrast, olingos likely invaded South America from Central America. The earliest diversification of the genus happened in northwestern South America. This occurred shortly after they arrived on the continent. Understanding these timelines helps scientists map how life spreads across the world.