Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Bras­sar­i­cyon gab­bii is typ­i­cally found from Nicaragua to Bo­livia, where it is lo­cally abun­dant and it is sparsely dis­trib­uted in the west­ern Ama­zon basin. (Kays, 2000; Nowak, 1999)

• Biogeographic Regions
• neotropical
  • native

Habi­tat

Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii is found in ever­green forests, and on for­est edges. It prefers the upper canopy of the for­est and is rarely seen on the ground. Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii is found at el­e­va­tions from sea level to 2,000 m. (Nowak, 1999; Pontes and Chivers, 2002)

• Habitat Regions
• tropical
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• forest
• rainforest

• Range elevation

  0 to 2000 m

  0.00 to 6561.68 ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii mea­sures 350 to 470 mm long, with a tail length of 400 to 480 mm. These an­i­mals weigh be­tween 970 and 1,500 g. The pelage can range from grey-brown to yel­low­ish. Faint bands are vis­i­ble on the tail. It has small rounded ears and a flat­tened head. Both males and fe­males have sim­i­lar body size. ("Mam­mals of Iwokrama", 1999; Nowak, 1999)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

• Range mass

  970 to 1500 g

  34.19 to 52.86 oz

• Range length

  750 to 955 mm

  29.53 to 37.60 in

• Average length

  850 mm

  33.46 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

The breed­ing sys­tem of this species has not been re­ported. Males are re­ported to be in­toller­ant of one an­other in cap­tiv­ity, so it is un­likely that fe­males have mul­ti­ple mates. (Nowak, 1999)

• Mating System
• polygynandrous (promiscuous)

Breed­ing in B. gabii is re­ported to be asea­sonal. Ges­ta­tion lasts ap­prox­i­mately 73 to 74 days. At the end of ges­ta­tion a sin­gle off­spring is born. Young are al­tri­cial, and like most car­ni­vores, are born with their eyes closed. Birth weight is around 55 g. By about 27 days of age, the eyes of the young have opened. Solid food may be con­sumed as young as 2 months of age. By 21 to 24 months of age, B. gab­bii has reached sex­ual ma­tu­rity. (Nowak, 1999)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• fertilization
• viviparous

• Breeding interval

  These animals are apparently able to breed at least once per year, and without a definite breeding season may breed more often than that.

• Breeding season

  Breeding occurs throughout the year.

• Average number of offspring

  1

• Average number of offspring

  1

  AnAge

• Range gestation period

  73 to 74 days

• Average weaning age

  2 months

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  21 to 24 months

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  21 to 24 minutes

Male parental care has not been re­ported for these an­i­mals. Fe­males, like fe­males of other mam­malian species, take care of in­fants, pro­vid­ing them with milk, groom­ing, and pro­tec­tion. Young begin to con­sume solid food by about 2 months of age, and wean­ing prob­a­bly oc­curs shortly there­after. It is not known how long the young stay with their moth­ers, but, as with most car­ni­vores, which must learn how to hunt for prey, young B. gab­bii prob­a­bly have some post-wean­ing as­so­ci­a­tion with their moth­ers. (Nowak, 1999)

• Parental Investment
• no parental involvement
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Not much is known about longevity in B. gab­bii. Cap­tive ones have been recorded liv­ing as long as 25 years. The lifes­pan in the wild is thought to be no more than 10 years. ("Mam­mals of Iwokrama", 1999; Nowak, 1999)

• Range lifespan
  Status: captivity

  25 (high) years

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  10 years

• Typical lifespan
  Status: captivity

  25 (high) years

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  24.0 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Be­hav­ior

Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii is a noc­tur­nal and ar­bo­real an­i­mal. It is usu­ally seen alone, but groups as large as six have been seen feed­ing to­gether in large fruit trees. BBas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii, known com­monly as an olingo, avoids kinka­jous (Potos flavus), since the closely re­lated kinka­jous will chase them out of trees. Be­cause they are noc­tur­nal, olin­gos do not com­pete di­rectly with most pri­mates. (Kays, 2000; Pontes and Chivers, 2002)

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal
• nocturnal
• motile
• sedentary
• solitary

Home Range

The home range size for these an­i­mals has not been re­ported.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

It is thought that B. gab­bii com­mu­ni­cates with con­specifics using sound. Olin­gos also have glands on ei­ther side of the anus that that are used in scent mark­ing. The func­tion of this scent mark­ing may be to at­tract mem­bers of the op­po­site sex, or to mark ter­ri­tory. Be­cause they are mam­mals, it is likely that vi­sual sig­nals, such as body pos­ture, are used in some in­stances. Tac­tile com­mu­ni­ca­tion is un­doubt­edly of im­por­tance be­tween ri­vals, mates, as well as be­tween moth­ers and off­spring. (Kays, 2000; Nowak, 1999)

• Communication Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

• Other Communication Modes
• scent marks

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

Food Habits

Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii feeds on fruits, nec­tar, flow­ers, in­sects, and small ver­te­brates. It is pri­mar­ily a fru­gi­vore and prefers to feed in fruit trees. How­ever, it is re­ported to con­sume con­sid­er­ably more meat in cap­tiv­ity than Potos flavus, and ac­tively hunts warm-blooded an­i­mals. (Nowak, 1999; Kays, 2000; Nowak, 1999; Pontes and Chivers, 2002)

• Primary Diet
• herbivore
  • frugivore

• Animal Foods
• birds
• mammals
• amphibians
• reptiles
• eggs
• insects
• terrestrial non-insect arthropods

• Plant Foods
• fruit
• flowers
• sap or other plant fluids

Pre­da­tion

The preda­tors of B. gab­bii are snakes and large cats like the jaguar (Pan­thera onca). Hu­mans are known to kill them, but not for food. ("Mam­mals of Iwokrama", 1999; Nowak, 1999)

• Known Predators

  • jaguars (Panthera onca)
  • humans (Homo sapiens)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii is a minor seed dis­perser. In ad­di­tion, this species may af­fect pop­u­la­tions of small ver­te­brates upon which it preys, as well as those of large car­ni­vores which prey upon it. It is a known com­peti­tor of Potos flavus, and is prob­a­bly an in­di­rect com­peti­tor with many di­ur­nal pri­mate species which feed on fruits. ("Mam­mals of Iwokrama", 1999; Kays, 2000; Nowak, 1999; Pontes and Chivers, 2002)

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii is not known to have any di­rect eco­nomic im­por­tance to hu­mans. (Nowak, 1999)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii can eat fruit being grown com­mer­cially, but its pop­u­la­tion is so sparse that it does not con­sti­tute a major threat to crops. (Pontes and Chivers, 2002)

• Negative Impacts
• crop pest

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

De­for­esta­tion of B. gab­bii habi­tat is re­duc­ing the pop­u­la­tion, but no exact num­bers are known. The species is listed on Ap­pen­dix III of CITES in Costa Rica. IUCN lists the species as Lower risk. ("IUCN Red list of Threat­ened species", 2002; Kays, 2000; Pontes and Chivers, 2002)

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• CITES

  Appendix III

Other Com­ments

Five species of the genus Bas­sar­i­cyon are cur­rently rec­og­nized by most au­thor­i­ties. How­ever, some think that these five species should be de­moted to the rank of sub­species of a sin­gle species. (Nowak, 1999)

Na­tives of the Ama­zon con­sider the olin­gos dan­ger­ous and kill them on sight. (Pontes and Chivers, 2002)

Con­trib­u­tors

Nancy Shef­ferly (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Lee Berger (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Wis­con­sin-Stevens Point, Chris Yahnke (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Wis­con­sin-Stevens Point.

Ref­er­ences

IUCN. 2002. "IUCN Red list of Threat­ened species" (On-line ). Ac­cessed 11/25/02 at http://​www.​redlist.​org/​search/​details.​php?​species=2609.

Iwokrama In­ter­na­tional Cen­tre for Rain For­est Con­ser­va­tion and De­vel­op­ment. 1999. "Mam­mals of Iwokrama" (On-line). Iwokrama In­ter­na­tional Cen­tre for Rain For­est Con­ser­va­tion and De­vel­op­ment. Ac­cessed May 13, 2004 at http://​www.​iwokrama.​org/​mammals/​frame.​html.

Kays, R. 2000. The be­hav­ior and ecol­ogy of olin­gos (Bas­sar­i­cyon gab­bii) and their com­pe­ti­tion with kinka­jous (Potos flavus) in cen­tral Panama. Mam­malia, 64: 1-10.

Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mam­mals of the World, Sixth Edi­tion. Bal­ti­more and Lon­don: The Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­sity Press.

Pontes, A., D. Chivers. 2002. Abun­dance, Habi­tat Use and Con­ser­va­tion of the Olingo Bas­sar­i­cyon sp. in Maraca Eco­log­i­cal Sta­tion, Ro­raima, Brazil­ian Ama­zo­nia. Stud­ies on Neotrop­i­cal Fauna and En­vi­ron­ment, 37/2: 105-109.