Eastern Lowland Olingo

The eastern lowland olingo (Bassaricyon alleni) is a species of olingo from South America. The species is named after Joel Asaph Allen, the American zoologist who first described the genus. It is classified as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List. == Taxonomy == The eastern lowland olingo is a species in the genus Bassaricyon, within the family Procyonidae, which also includes raccoons, coatis, and kinkajous. The species is named after American zoologist Joel Asaph Allen, who first described the genus. The species itself was described by Oldfield Thomas in 1880. == Distribution and habitat == The olingo occurs across most of South America from the lowlands east of the Andes in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. It is the only olingo species found east of the Andes. The closest relative of the eastern lowland olingo is the Western lowland olingo, from which it diverged about 1.3 million years ago. It is classified as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List. == Description and behavior == The eastern lowland olingo is smaller than the northern olingo, but is larger than the little olingo, the most montane member of the genus. It is larger than the western lowland…