olinguito

plural olinguitos

1. A raccoon-like procyonid, of species Bassaricyon neblina, native to the Andean forests of Colombia and Ecuador.

   The olinguito was found in the Andes Mountains by Smithsonian scientists in 2013.

   2018, Tamra B. Orr, Animal Discoveries, page 12

   5 more examples

   “The discovery of the olinguito shows us that the world is not yet completely explored, its most basic secrets not yet revealed.”

   2013 August 15, “Smithsonian scientists discover new carnivore: the olinguito”, in Smithsonian Science

   A fuzzy fog-dweller with a face like a teddy bear, the olinguito (pictured) is the first carnivore discovered in the Western Hemisphere in more than three decades, a new study says.

   2013, Christine Dell'Amore, “New Carnivore Revealed: Photos of the Olinguito and its Kin”, in National Geographic

   In the year since the announcement, the olinguito has gone from literal unknown to being surprisingly well-documented through photos and videos shot by amateur naturalists, bird watchers, and others, a kind of crowd-sourced science.

   2014 August 19, Jeffrey Brown, “'Crowd-sourced' Science Sheds New Light on New Mammal Olinguito”, in PBS Newshour

   First, a brand new species of mammal, considered the holy grail of the discipline, was found hiding in plain sight: the olinguito, smallest member of the raccoon family, has been around for decades, but was mistaken for its more substantial cousin, the olingo.

   2014 September 1, Andrew Theitic, The Witches' Almanac, number 34, Spring 2015-Spring 2016

   The olinguito, one of science's recently discovered species, is part of the same family as raccoons, coatis, and kinkajous.

   2015, Josh Hestermann, Bethanie Hestermann, Zoology for Kids: Understanding and Working with Animals, with 21 Activities, page 96