South American coati
| South American coati | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Family: | Procyonidae |
| Genus: | Nasua |
| Species: | N. nasua |
| Binomial name | |
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Nasua nasua (Linnaeus, 1766) |
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| Subspecies | |
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13, see text |
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| South American coati range. Note: Also found in west Ecuador, and west and north Colombia, see text. | |
13, see text
The South American coati, or ring-tailed coati (Nasua nasua), is a species of coati from tropical and subtropical South America. In Brazilian Portuguese it is known as quati. Weight in this species is 2–7.2 kg (4.4–15.9 lb) and total length is 85–113 cm (33–44 in), half of that being its tail. Its color is highly variable and the rings on the tail may be quite weak, but it lacks the largely white muzzle ("nose") of its northern cousin, the white-nosed coati.
The South American coati is widespread in tropical and subtropical South America. Most of its distribution is in the lowlands east of the Andes (locally, it occurs as high as 2,500 m or 8,200 ft), from Colombia and The Guianas south to Uruguay and northern Argentina (Chile is the only South American country where the species is not found).
The status of coatis west of the Andes has caused some confusion, but specimen records from west Ecuador, and north and west Colombia are South American coatis. The only documented records of white-nosed coatis in South America are from far northwestern Colombia (Gulf of Urabá region, near Colombian border with Panama). The smaller mountain coatis are mainly found at altitudes above the South American coati, but there is considerable overlap.
South American coatis are diurnal animals, and they live both on the ground and in trees. They typically live in the forest. They are omnivorous and primarily eat fruit, invertebrates, other small animals and bird eggs. Coatis search for fruit in trees high in the canopy, and use their snouts to poke through crevices to find animal prey on the ground. They also search for animal prey by turning over rocks on the ground or ripping open logs with their claws.
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Wikipedia