Cacomistle

Cacomistle
Cacomistle
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procyonidae
Genus: Bassariscus
Species: B. sumichrasti
Binomial name
Bassariscus sumichrasti
(Saussure, 1860)
Cacomistle range

The cacomistle (Bassariscus sumichrasti) is a nocturnal, arboreal and omnivorous member of the carnivoran family Procyonidae. Its preferred habitats are wet, tropical, evergreen woodlands and mountain forests, though seasonally it will range into drier deciduous forests.

Nowhere in its range (from southern Mexico to western Panama) is B. sumichrasti common. This is especially true in Costa Rica, where it inhabits only a very small area. It is completely dependent on forest habitat, making it particularly susceptible to deforestation.

The term cacomistle is from the Nahuatl language (tlahcomiztli) and means "half cat" or "half mountain lion"[2]; it is sometimes also used to refer to the ringtail, Bassariscus astutus, a similar species that inhabits arid northern Mexico and the American Southwest.

References

  1. ^ Samudio, R., Pino, J.L. & Helgen, K. (2008). Bassariscus sumichrasti. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 26 January 2009.
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • cacomistle — ☆ cacomistle [kak′əmis΄əl, kak′əmik΄səlkak′ə mis΄əl ] n. [AmSp cacomixtle < Nahuatl λ aʾ komisλ i < λ aʾ ko, half + mis λ i, cougar] 1. a slender, long tailed, raccoonlike carnivore (Bassariscus astutus) of the SW U.S. and Mexico 2. its fur …   English World dictionary

  • cacomistle — Pietų Amerikos basariskas statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Bassariscus astutus angl. cacomistle; North American cacomistle; ringtail; ring tailed cat vok. nordamerikanisches Katzenfrett rus.… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • cacomistle — noun Etymology: Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl tlahcomiztli, from tlahco half + miztli mountain lion Date: 1869 ringtail 2 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • cacomistle — /kak euh mis euhl/, n. 1. Also, cacomixle /kak euh mis euhl, mik seuhl/. Also called bassarisk, ringtail, coon cat. a carnivorous animal, Bassariscus astutus, of Mexico and the southwestern U.S., related to the raccoon but smaller, with a sharper …   Universalium

  • cacomistle — n. carnivorous mammal with a long bushy tail with black and white rings (resembles the raccoon) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • cacomistle — [ kakə(ʊ)ˌmɪs(ə)l] noun a nocturnal raccoon like animal with a dark ringed tail, found in North and Central America. [Genus Bassariscus: two species.] Origin C19: from Latin Amer. Sp. cacomixtle, from Nahuatl tlacomiztli …   English new terms dictionary

  • cacomistle — cac·o·mis·tle …   English syllables

  • cacomistle — cac•o•mis•tle or cac•o•mix•le [[t]ˈkæk əˌmɪs əl[/t]] n. mam a slender, raccoonlike carnivorous mammal, Bassariscus astutus, of Mexico and the southwestern U.S., with a long tail • Etymology: 1865–70, amer.; < MexSp cacomiztle, cacomixtle <… …   From formal English to slang

  • cacomistle — /ˈkækəmɪsəl/ (say kakuhmisuhl) noun either of two carnivorous mammals of the genus Bassariscus, of America, related to the raccoon but smaller, with a sharper snout and longer tail. Also, cacomixle /ˈkækəmɪsəl/ (say kakuhmisuhl), / mɪksəl/ (say… …  

  • cacomistle — n. any racoon like animal of several species of the genus Bassariscus, native to Central America, having a dark ringed tail. Etymology: Amer. Sp. cacomixtle f. Nahuatl tlacomiztli …   Useful english dictionary

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