The eastern lowland olingo (Bassaricyon alleni) is a species of olingo from South America, where it is known from the lowlands east of the Andes in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela.[1][3] It is the only olingo species found east of the Andes.[2] The Latin species name honors Joel Asaph Allen, the American zoologist who first described the genus Bassaricyon.[4]
| Eastern lowland olingo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Yambrasbamba, Bongará, Amazonas, Peru. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Procyonidae |
| Genus: | Bassaricyon |
| Species: | B. alleni |
| Binomial name | |
| Bassaricyon alleni Thomas, 1880 | |
 | |
| Black points mark the range of B. alleni[2] | |
| Synonyms | |
Bassaricyon beddardi Pocock, 1921 | |
Description
The eastern lowland olingo is smaller than the northern olingo, but larger than the recently described olinguito ("little olingo"), the most montane member of the genus.[2] It is larger than the western lowland olingo subspecies B. medius medius from west of the Andes, but about the same size as the B. m. orinomus subspecies from eastern Panama.[2] The pelage is slightly darker than the western species.[2]
It has a head-body length of 30 to 45 centimetres (12 to 18 in), with a tail length of 40 to 53 centimetres (16 to 21 in).[2] It weighs 1.1 to 1.5 kilograms (2.4 to 3.3 lb).[2]
Taxonomy
The closest relative of the eastern lowland olingo is the western lowland species, B. medius, from which it diverged about 1.3 million years ago.[2]