| Eastern Mountain Coati | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Procyonidae |
| Genus: | Nasuella |
| Species: | N. meridensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Nasuella meridensis (Thomas, 1901) |
|
The Eastern Mountain Coati or Eastern Dwarf Coati (Nasuella meridensis) is a small procyonid found in cloud forest and paramo at altitudes of 2,000–4,000 metres (6,600–13,000 ft) in the Andes of western Venezuela.[1] Until 2009, it was usually included as a subspecies of the Western Mountain Coati, but the Eastern Mountain Coati is overall smaller, somewhat shorter-tailed on average, has markedly smaller teeth, a paler olive-brown pelage, and usually a dark mid-dorsal stripe on the back (versus more rufescent or blackish, and usually without a dark mid-dorsal stripe in the Western Mountain Coati).[1] When the two are combined, they are rated as Data Deficient by the IUCN,[2] but no rating is available when the two are split.[1]