24-425: Procyonidae ( / ˌ p r oʊ s iː ˈ ɒ n ɪ d iː / PROH -see- ON -i-dee ) is a New World family of the order Carnivora . It includes the raccoons , ringtails , cacomistles , coatis , kinkajous , olingos , and olinguitos . Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous . Procyonids are relatively small animals, with generally slender bodies and long tails, though
48-457: A consensus over time. The naming of families is codified by various international bodies using the following suffixes: The taxonomic term familia was first used by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called the seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables families ( familiae ). The concept of rank at that time
72-446: A family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community for extended periods. The continual publication of new data and diverse opinions plays a crucial role in facilitating adjustments and ultimately reaching
96-479: A prehensile tail and unique femoral structure. Due to their omnivorous diet, procyonids have lost some of the adaptations for flesh-eating found in their carnivorous relatives. While they do have carnassial teeth, these are poorly developed in most species, especially the raccoons. Apart from the kinkajou, procyonids have the dental formula : 3.1.4.2 3.1.4.2 for a total of 40 teeth. The kinkajou has one fewer premolar in each row: 3.1.3.2 3.1.3.2 for
120-485: A total of 36 teeth. Most members of Procyonidae are solitary; however, some species form groups. Coati females will form bands of 4 to 24 individuals that forage together, while kinkajous have been found to form social groups of two males and one female. Certain procyonids give birth to one offspring like ringtails, olingos, and kinkajous while raccoons and coatis give birth to litters that range in size from 2 to 6 offspring. Procyonid fossils once believed to belong to
144-510: Is a Honigbär (honey-bear). Dutch follows suit, calling the animals wasbeer , neusbeer and rolstaartbeer (curl-tail bear) respectively. However, it is now believed that procyonids are more closely related to mustelids than to bears. Procyonids share common morphological characteristics including a shortened rostrum, absent alisphenoid canals, and a relatively flat mandibular fossa. Kinkajous have unique morphological characteristics consistent with their arboreally adapted locomotion, including
168-491: Is a list of extinct taxa (many of which are fossil genera and species) compiled in alphabetical order under their respective subfamilies. Family (biology) Family ( Latin : familia , pl. : familiae ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy . It is classified between order and genus . A family may be divided into subfamilies , which are intermediate ranks between
192-574: The Genera Plantarum of George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker this word ordo was used for what now is given the rank of family. Families serve as valuable units for evolutionary, paleontological, and genetic studies due to their relatively greater stability compared to lower taxonomic levels like genera and species. Olingo The genus Bassaricyon consists of small Neotropical procyonids , popularly known as olingos ( / ɒ ˈ l ɪ ŋ ɡ oʊ z / ), cousins of
216-442: The raccoon . They are native to the rainforests of Central and South America from Nicaragua to Peru . They are arboreal and nocturnal , and live at elevations from sea level to 2,750 m (9,020 ft). Olingos closely resemble another procyonid, the kinkajou , in morphology and habits, though they lack prehensile tails and extrudable tongues, have more extended muzzles , and possess anal scent glands . However,
240-677: The basis of similarities in morphology that are now known to be an example of parallel evolution ; similarly, coatis are shown as being most closely related to raccoons, when in fact they are closest to olingos. Below right is a cladogram showing the results of molecular studies as of 2013. Genus Nasuella was not included in these studies, but in a separate study was found to nest within Nasua . Bassaricyon (olingos and olinguito) Nasua and Nasuella (coatis) Procyon (raccoons) Bassariscus (ringtail and cacomistle) Potos (kinkajou) Several recent molecular studies have resolved
264-514: The book's morphological section, where he delved into discussions regarding the vegetative and generative aspects of plants. Subsequently, in French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille was used as a French equivalent of the Latin ordo (or ordo naturalis ). In zoology ,
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#1732772731099288-546: The closest relatives of the olingos are actually the coatis ; the divergence between the two groups is estimated to have occurred about 10.2 million years (Ma) ago during the Tortonian age , while kinkajous split off from the other extant procyonids about 22.6 Ma ago during the Aquitanian age . The similarities between kinkajous and olingos are thus an example of parallel evolution . The diversification of
312-464: The common raccoon tends to be bulky. Because of their general build, the Procyonidae are often popularly viewed as smaller cousins of the bear family. This is apparent in their German name, Kleinbären (small bears), including the names of the species: a raccoon is called a Waschbär (washing bear, as it "washes" its food before eating), a coati is a Nasenbär (nose-bear), while a kinkajou
336-540: The family as a rank intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel (1796). He used families (some of them were not named) in some but not in all his orders of "insects" (which then included all arthropods ). In nineteenth-century works such as the Prodromus of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and
360-711: The formerly isolated South America as part of the Great American Interchange , beginning about 7.3 Ma ago in the late Miocene, with the appearance of Cyonasua . Some fossil procyonids such as Stromeriella were also present in the Old World, before going extinct in the Pliocene. Genetic studies have shown that kinkajous are a sister group to all other extant procyonids; they split off about 22.6 Ma ago. The clades leading to coatis and olingos on one branch, and to ringtails and raccoons on
384-458: The genus Bassariscus , which includes the modern ringtail and cacomistle, have been identified from the Miocene epoch, around 20 million years ( Ma ) ago. It has been suggested that early procyonids were an offshoot of the canids that adapted to a more omnivorous diet. The recent evolution of procyonids has been centered on Central America (where their diversity is greatest); they entered
408-437: The genus apparently started about 3.5 million years ago, when B. neblina branched off from the others; B. gabbii then split off about 1.8 Ma ago, and the two lowland species, B. alleni and B. medius , diverged about 1.3 Ma ago. The dating and biogeography modeling suggest that the earliest diversification of the genus took place in northwestern South America shortly after the ancestors of olingos first invaded
432-406: The other, separated about 17.7 Ma ago. The divergence between olingos and coatis is estimated to have occurred about 10.2 Ma ago, at about the same time that ringtails and raccoons parted ways. The separation between coatis and mountain coatis is estimated to have occurred 7.7 Ma ago. There has been considerable historical uncertainty over the correct classification of several members. The red panda
456-780: The phylogenetic relationships between the procyonids, as illustrated in the cladogram below. Potos flavus (kinkajou) Procyon cancrivorus (crab eating raccoon) Procyon lotor (common raccoon) [REDACTED] Procyon pygmaeus (Cozumel raccoon) Bassariscus sumichrasti (cacomistle) Bassariscus astutus (ringtail) Bassaricyon medius (western lowland olingo) [REDACTED] Bassaricyon alleni (eastern lowland olingo) [REDACTED] Bassaricyon gabbii (northern olingo) [REDACTED] Bassaricyon neblina (olinguito) [REDACTED] Nasua nasua (ring-tailed coati) Nasua narica (white-nosed coati) Nasuella olivacea (western mountain coati) Nasuella meridensis (eastern mountain coati) Below
480-491: The ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae , but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family— or whether a described family should be acknowledged— is established and decided upon by active taxonomists . There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging
504-415: The two genera are not sisters . They also resemble galagos and certain lemurs . There is disagreement on the number of species in this genus, with some taxonomists splitting the populations into as many as five species (adding B. pauli to the list below), two species (dropping B. medius and B. neblina ), or just a single species ( B. gabbi ). Until recently, only the northern olingo ( B. gabbii )
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#1732772731099528-488: Was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera , which is far from how the term is used today. In his work Philosophia Botanica published in 1751, Carl Linnaeus employed the term familia to categorize significant plant groups such as trees , herbs , ferns , palms , and so on. Notably, he restricted the use of this term solely within
552-729: Was particularly well-known, and it was usually confusingly referred to simply as an olingo. Olingos are quite rare in zoos and are often misidentified as kinkajous . A previously unrecognized olingo, similar to but distinct from B. alleni , was discovered in 2006 by Kristofer Helgen at Las Maquinas in the Andes of Ecuador . He named this species B. neblina or olinguito and presented his findings on August 15, 2013. With data derived from anatomy, morphometrics, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA , field observations, and geographic range modeling, Helgen and coworkers demonstrated that four olingo species can be recognized: Genetic studies have shown that
576-605: Was previously classified in this family, but it is now classified in its own family, the Ailuridae , based on molecular biology studies. The status of the various olingos was disputed: some regarded them all as subspecies of Bassaricyon gabbii before DNA sequence data demonstrated otherwise. The traditional classification scheme shown below on the left predates the recent revolution in our understanding of procyonid phylogeny based on genetic sequence analysis. This outdated classification groups kinkajous and olingos together on
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