Additional dietary records of the arboreal kinkajou (Potos flavus)

Abstract

Introduction: The kinkajou (Potos flavus) is a medium-sized arboreal mammal that primarily feeds on fruits, flowers, nectar, leaves, and occasionally arthropods.  While interactions between P. flavus and plants are well-documented, with the species known to consume fruits and other parts of 119 plant species across 50 families, reports of frugivory involving kinkajous and Araceae plants are scarce.  To date, only a single instance of frugivory on Philodendron crassispathum has been recorded. 

Methods: During a field trip in March 2022 to Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México, we documented the first observed consumption of Monstera egregia by kinkajous using a video camera.

Results: The kinkajou was observed perched on a leaf stem of the same M. egregia, approximately 6 m above the ground.  The individual gripped the stem with its feet and prehensile tail while using its hands to manipulate the infructescence.  The animal was seen biting into the infructescence and picking individual fruits, which it brought to its mouth.

Discussion: Although Araceae plants have evolved mechanisms to deter herbivory, the consumption of M. egregia by kinkajous appears to be a deliberate behavior rather than a random occurrence.  Interactions between Araceae species and kinkajous, as well as with other frugivorous mammals, may represent an important ecological relationship deserving of further investigation.