Home COATIS: FROM THE AMERICAS TO EUROPE, FROM THE FAMILIAR TO THE EXOTIC INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A COATI?

INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A COATI?

Infographic via Peppermint Narwhal Creative
Image via YouTube

Coatis are procyonid mammals – the same family that includes raccoons, as well as cacomistles, kinkajous, olingos, olinguitos, and ringtails. There are four living species in two genera, all endemic to the Americas.

[Taxonomic trees via Wikipedia]

ETYMOLOGY

The name “coati” derives from the Indigenous Tupi language, meaning “nose belt,” a reference to how it sleeps with its nose tucked into its belly. The name “coatimundi” was used by the Tupi to specifically refer to the males, which confused Europeans and led to centuries of debate about whether they were two separate species. (As it turns out, of course, there are multiple species, but not along the same lines of how the Europeans initially thought there were!)

FUN FACTS!

Females and their young live in social groups of up to 30 called bands, while adult males are generally solitary except during mating season.

They have an excellent sense of smell, and their long, flexible snouts can rotate up to 60 degrees in any direction.

Their ankles can also rotate 180 degrees, allowing them to descend from trees head-first.

Their long, ringed tails are used for both social signaling and to provide balance while moving through trees.

They are opportunistic omnivores, eating everything from ground litter, fruit, invertebrates, eggs, and small vertebrates including lizards, rodents, and small birds. (Like their raccoon cousins, they will also dig through your trash!)

SPECIES IDENTIFICATION

It is easy to tell the two most common species apart – just look at the snouts! The White-Nosed Coati (right) is so named because its snout has distinct white markings on it, whereas the South American Coati, also known as the Black-Nosed Coati (left), has…you guessed it, black in that same area.
Image via World Coati Day
Fur color, on the other hand, is not helpful for telling these two species apart, as it is naturally variable both between and within species, as seen in these two South American Coati individuals. Just as with our own human hair, melanins can give coatis a range of black, greys, browns, reds, and blondes in their pelage.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
The Mountain Coatis are sometimes also called “dwarf coatis” because they are only about half the size of their larger cousins. They also have an unusual olive tinge to their pelage (difficult to see in photos).
Image via Glant Eland / ZooChat
Infographic via Peppermint Narwhal Creative

COATI WEBZIBIT NAVIGATION:

➡️MAIN PAGE

➡️INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A COATI?

➡️COATIS IN INDIGENOUS AMERICAN MATERIAL AND VISUAL CULTURE

➡️COATIS IN EARLY MODERN EUROPEAN MENAGERIES

➡️REFERENCES

➡️APPENDIX: COATI HISTORICAL NATURAL HISTORY ART & SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION (16TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURIES) IMAGE BANK

➡️COATIS IN MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART coming soon!

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