Western lowland olingo

The western lowland olingo (Bassaricyon medius) is a species of olingo from Central and South America, where it is known from Panama and from Colombia and Ecuador west of the Andes.^[2]

Western lowland olingo
Sitting on a branch
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Caniformia
Family:	Procyonidae
Genus:	Bassaricyon
Species:	B. medius
Binomial name
Bassaricyon medius Thomas, 1909
Distribution of the western lowland olingo
Synonyms
Bassariscyon gabbi orinomus Goldman, 1912

Description

The western lowland olingo is smaller than the northern olingo, but larger than the most montane member of the genus, the recently described olinguito ("little olingo").^[2] While the Panamanian subspecies B. m. orinomus is about the same size as the eastern lowland olingo, the subspecies from west of the Andes, B. m. medius is smaller.^[2] The pelage is slightly lighter than that of the eastern species.^[2]

It has a head-body length of 31 to 41 centimetres (12 to 16 in), with a tail length of 35 to 52 centimetres (14 to 20 in).^[2] It weighs .9 to 1.2 kilograms (2.0 to 2.6 lb).^[2]

Taxonomy

There are two subspecies of the western lowland olingo: the nominate B. m. medius (Colombia and Ecuador) and B. m. orinomus (Panama and possibly Colombia).^[2] The closest relative of the western lowland olingo is the other lowland olingo species, B. alleni, found east of the Andes, from which it diverged about 1.3 million years ago.^[2]