A member of the raccoon family found in forests east of the Andes. It is active in trees at night.
Its back fur is black-tipped, with a fairly uniform coat colour from head to tail and a usually dark nose.
Allen’s olingo is a procyonid mammal from the Amazon region of South America. A 2026 taxonomic review examined four museum specimens collected in the Brazilian Amazon in 1998 and 2001, together with comparative material from other areas. The researchers compared anatomical traits and genetic data to document geographic variation.
They reported differences between western Amazon and Guiana Shield populations in both morphology and genetics. The authors recognize the Guiana Shield population as the subspecies B. a. beddardi. The review describes regional lineages within a forest-dwelling mammal across the Amazonian landscape.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
A taxonomic study including four Brazilian Amazon specimens documented morphological and genetic differences between western Amazon and Guiana Shield Allen’s olingos. The authors recognize the Guiana Shield population as a distinct subspecies.