Olinguito discovered the first new species of carnivore in American ... - Corriere della Sera

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Originally from South America, 35 cm long, weighs almost a pound

olinguito discovered the first new species of carnivorous American in 35 years

His remains were in the museum for nearly a century but had been confused with another species

is like the case of that person goes anagrafe and is located with the name of another. Only this time the “fake identity card ‘lasted for about a century and he, poor olinguito, found himself up to the day of August 2013 be classified elsewhere in the tree of life. It took researchers from the Natural History Museum in Washington, led by Kristofer Helgen of the Smithsonian Institution, who published the study in the journal ZooKeys to restore the dignity of all’olinguito species and to make it the latest member of the family of Raccoon , one that includes the raccoons. And to become the first carnivore for 35 years “discovered” the Americas.

Olinguito, the new American carnivore

FROM SOUTH AMERICA – The olinguito, a native of the Andes, is a pet a length of 35 centimeters, about 900 grams in weight, with a head that makes him look like a bear plush toys with big eyes and a body like a cat with thick hair reddish-brown. He lives in the tropical forests of Ecuador and Colombia, where local people call it neblina , which in Spanish means haze, because it is barely visible in the haze that envelops fatigue perpetually forest trees the mountains between 1,600 and 3,000 meters in height. And from which it derives its new scientific name: Bassaricyon neblina .

CONFUSED WITH THE COUSIN – The olinguito, which so far had been confused with its larger cousin, the Olingo, eat a bit ‘of everything, but especially fruit , is active at night and you play giving birth to one young at a time. His remains were at the museum in Washington for a century, but only now a more careful study has allowed us to classify it in the right way, making it the first new species of carnivorous American for 35 years now. The study lasted ten years, when the scientists analyzed 95% of the remains of Olingo preserved in museums around the world and those in zoos, checking their DNA. Only then will you believe – also found that the teeth and the skull were smaller, and that the fur was thicker with longer hairs – that part of the remains had to belong to another species, which has been christened olinguito.

SECRETS – “The discovery dell’olinguito shows that the world is not yet fully explored and still contains the secrets,” said Kristofer Helgen. “If animals as important as the carnivores can still be discovered, what other surprises await us? Describe and classify the species is the first step to understand the richness and diversity of life on our planet. ” All olinguito of the world thank you for their new found status. And they hope, however, that now it will leave you alone, as 42% of their habitat has already been destroyed to make room for cultivated areas and urban areas.

Paul Virtuani