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Information about Kinkajou

Kinkajou

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Family:Procyonidae
Genus:Potos
Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & Cuvier, 1795
Species:P. flavus
Binomial name
Potos flavus
(Schreber, 1774)
Enlarge picture
Kinkajou range

Kinkajou range


The Kinkajou (Potos flavus), also known as the Honey Bear, Sugar Bear, or Cat-Monkey is a rainforest mammal of the family Procyonidae related to the olingo, ringtail, cacomistle, raccoon, and coati. It is the only member of the genus Potos. Native to Central America and South America, this arboreal mammal is not particularly rare, though it is seldom seen by people because of its strict nocturnal habits. Kinkajous may be mistaken for ferrets or monkeys, but are not related.The kinkajou has gold fur which overlaps gray, the fur is also wooly. Olingos are similar to kinkajous in morphology and habits. However, genetic studies have shown that the kinkajous were an early offshoot of the ancestral procyonid line and are not closely related to any of the other extant procyonids.[1] The similarities between kinkajous and olingos are thus an example of parallel evolution; the closest relatives of the olingos are actually the coatis.[1]

An average adult kinkajou weighs 2–3 kg (4–7 lb). Growing to an average body length of 17-22 inches, their tail is 16-22 inches in length in addition to the body. Although classified in the order Carnivora and equipped with sharp teeth, they actually primarily eat fruit. One source of help in getting fruit in small areas is their long tongue that is slender and has a length of 5 inches. The tongue is also used to obtain nectar from flowers, allowing the kinkajou to play the role of a pollinator. Nectar is sometimes also obtained by simply eating flowers. Although captive animals will avidly eat honey (earning them the name "Honey Bear"), it has not yet been observed in the diet of wild kinkajous. Like raccoons, kinkajous have remarkable manipulatory abilities, in this respect rivaling primates. Kinkajous also have short-haired, fully prehensile tails (like some New World monkeys), which they use as a fifth hand in climbing. However, they do not use their tails for grasping food. Special scent glands near the mouth and on the throat and belly allow them to mark their travel routes and territory. Kinkajous sleep together in family units and groom each other. While they are usually solitary when foraging, they occasionally do so in small groups, and sometimes also associate with olingos. Kinkajous are distinguished from olingos by their prehensile tail, foreshortened muzzle, extrudable tongue, and lack of an anal scent gland.

Kinkajous are sometimes kept as pets. Their personality tends to be playful and curious, and they are generally tame. However, some owners report unpredictable, vicious attacks by their kinkajous even after several years of non-aggression. Kinkajous enjoy bananas and have been known to raid domestic owners' liquor cabinets. They live an average of about 23 years in captivity, with a maximum recorded life span of over 40 years. Kinkajous breed throughout the year giving birth to one or (less commonly) two small babies after a gestation period of 112 to 118 days.

Kinkajous do not like to be awake during the day, and dislike noise or sudden movements. If they are agitated too much, they may emit a scream and attack, usually clawing their victim and biting deeply.

Kinkajous communicate using a variety of vocalizations; their loudest call is shrill and resembles a woman's scream. For this reason, one Spanish folk name for the kinkajou is "la llorona" ("the crying woman").




Potos flavus


References

1. ^ K.-P. Koepfli, M. E. Gompper, E. Eizirik, C.-C. Ho, L. Linden, J. E. Maldonado, R. K. Wayne (2007). "Phylogeny of the Procyonidae (Mammalia: Carvnivora): Molecules, morphology and the Great American Interchange". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43: 1076-1095. DOI:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.10.003. 

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conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Carnivora
Bowdich, 1821

Families
  • 17, See classification

The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: /kɑrˈnɪvərə/
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Procyonidae
Gray, 1825

Genera

Ailurus???
Plesictis - extinct
Angustictis - extinct
Bassariscus
Probassariscus - extinct
Edaphocyon - extinct
Arctonasua - extinct

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Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (April 15,1772 - June 19, 1844) was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theories.
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Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier (August 23 1769–May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist and zoologist. He was the elder brother of Frédéric Cuvier (1773–1838), also a naturalist.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber (Weißensee, Thuringia, 1739 — Erlangen, 1810) was a German naturalist.

In 1774 Schreber began writing a multi-volume set of books entitled Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen
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Rainforests, or rain forests, are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750 mm and 2000 mm (68 inches to 78 inches).
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Procyonidae
Gray, 1825

Genera

Ailurus???
Plesictis - extinct
Angustictis - extinct
Bassariscus
Probassariscus - extinct
Edaphocyon - extinct
Arctonasua - extinct

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Olingos are small procyonids who comprise the genus Bassaricyon, 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 2,000 m.
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B. astutus

Binomial name
Bassariscus astutus
(Lichtenstein, 1830)

Subspecies
  • Bassariscus a. arizonensis
  • Bassariscus a. flavus
  • Bassariscus a.

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B. sumichrasti

Binomial name
Bassariscus sumichrasti
(Saussure, 1860)

The Cacomistle (Bassariscus sumichrasti) is a nocturnal arboreal omnivore.
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P. lotor

Binomial name
Procyon lotor
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Raccoon native range in red, feral range in blue.

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Nasua

Species

Nasua nasua
Nasua narica
Nasua nelsoni

The name coati (pronounced IPA: /koʊˈɑːti/
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Central America (Spanish: Centroamérica or América Central) is a central geographic region of the Americas. It is variably defined either as the southern portion of North America, which connects with South America on the southeast, or a region of
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South America is a continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie
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Arboreal is a word meaning "related to or resembling trees". Its meaning comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree.

In biology, an arboreal animal is one which inhabits or spends large amounts of time in trees or bushes.
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nocturnality describes sleeping during the daytime and being active at night - the opposite of the diurnal human lifestyle, and that of those animals with which we are most familiar. The intermediate crepuscular schedule (twilight activity) is also common.
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Olingos are small procyonids who comprise the genus Bassaricyon, 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 2,000 m.
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The term morphology in biology refers to the outward appearance (shape, structure, color, pattern) of an organism or taxon and its component parts. This is in contrast to physiology, which deals primarily with function.
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Parallel evolution is the independent evolution of similar traits, starting from a similar ancestral condition due to similar environments or other evolutionary pressures[1].
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Carnivora
Bowdich, 1821

Families
  • 17, See classification

The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: /kɑrˈnɪvərə/
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Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. It is produced either by the flowers, in which it attracts pollinating animals or by or extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists providing anti-herbivore protection.
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A pollinator is the biotic agent (vector) that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain.
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