Speothos umbrinu: the cryptic canid of the Kanuku Mountains

Speothos umbrinu is known from two camera-trap events on a single transect in the Kanuku Mountains Protected Area, three nights apart. Both frames show a small, dark-furred canid with a deep chest, short legs and rounded ears that sit higher and larger than in lowland bush dog populations.

The animal moved alone on both occasions, which is itself notable. Bush dogs are almost always recorded in pairs or small packs, and a solitary individual at a creek crossing is one of the reasons the field team flagged the footage rather than filing it as ordinary variation.

Nothing has been collected. No call has been recorded. Until a genetic sample or a sound recording is obtained, the population's relationship to Speothos venaticus cannot be settled, and the name remains provisional. The survey team is seeking permission for a limited follow-up deployment on the same transect.