Olinguito

Pronunciation

• GenAm IPA: en, /oÊŠlɪŋˈɡitoÊŠ/
• RP IPA: en, /əʊlɪŋˈɡiːtəʊ/

Origin

From Spanish olingo + -ito ("diminutive suffix").

Full definition of olinguito

Noun

1. Bassaricyon neblina, a raccoon-like procyonid native to the Andean forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
• 2013, August 15, "Smithsonian scientists discover new carnivore: the olinguito", Smithsonian Science“The discovery of the olinguito shows us that the world is not yet completely explored, its most basic secrets not yet revealed.”
• 2013, Christine Dell'Amore, "New Carnivore Revealed: Photos of the Olinguito and its Kin", National Geographic: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.
• 2014, August 19, Jeffrey Brown, "'Crowd-sourced' Science Sheds New Light on New Mammal Olinguito", PBS Newshour http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/crowd-sourced-science-sheds-new-light-new-mammal-olinguito/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.
• September 1, 2014, Andrew Theitic, 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.
• 2015, Josh Hestermann, ‎Bethanie Hestermann,, Zoology for Kids: Understanding and Working with Animals, with 21 Activities, p. 96:The olinguito, one of science's recently discovered species, is part of the same family as raccoons, coatis, and kinkajous.
• 2018, Tamra B. Orr, Animal Discoveries, p. 12:The olinguito was found in the Andes Mountains by Smithsonian scientists in 2013.

Further reading