the kinkajou, and identified the latter as the lectotype for the species. The type locality reported by Schreber for L. flavus ("the mountains in Jamaica") was clearly based on Pennant's description of the kinkajou, who claimed, however, that his specimen was "shown about three years ago in London: its keeper said it came from the mountains of Jamaica". This error was pointed out by Thomas in 1902, who corrected the type locality to Suriname. He used the name Potos flavus for the kinkajou. The genus Potos was erected by Saint-Hilaire and Cuvier in 1795, with the type species Viverra caudivolvula described by Schreber in 1778 (later identified as a synonym of Potos flavus). In 1977 the family Cercoleptidae was proposed with the kinkajou as the sole member, but this classification was later dismissed. Subspecies Eight subspecies have been proposed (type localities are listed alongside): P. f. chapadensis : Chapadas of Mato Grosso (Brazil) P. f. chiriquensis : Boquerón, Chiriquí Province (Panama) P. f. flavus : Suriname. Synonyms include Cercoleptes brachyotos, C. brachyotus, Mustela potto, and Viverra caudivolvula P. f. megalotus : Santa Marta (Colombia) P. f. meridensis : Mérida (Venezuela) P. f. modestus : Montes Balzar, Guayas Province (Ecuador) P. f. nocturnus : São Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas (Brazil) P. f. prehensilis : Veracruz (Mexico) A 2016 phylogenetic study based on mitochondrial gene cytochrome b analyzed kinkajou specimens from a variety of locations throughout most of their range. The results showed 27 haplotypes split into five clades corresponding to geographical divisions: Costa Rica (clade 1), northern Brazil and the Guianas (clade 2), northern Peru (clade 3), Ecuador and Panama (clade 4), interfluves between the Branco River and Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon, low-lying Amazonian areas (in Bolivia, western Brazil and Peru), and eastern Atlantic Forest (clade 5). Given the diverse clades, the researchers suggested that some of the subspecies might be independent species. Evolution A 2007 phylogenetic study showed that kinkajous form a basal lineage sister to the rest of the Procyonidae. They diverged 21.6–24 Mya. Two clades, one leading to Bassaricyon (olingos and the olinguito) plus Nasua (coatis), and one leading to Bassariscus (the ring-tailed cat and the cacomistle) plus Procyon (racoons), appeared subsequently and radiated during the Miocene (). Kinkajous are thought to have evolved in Central America and invaded South America as part of the Great American Interchange that followed the formation of the Isthmus of