Andean porcupine

The Andean porcupine (Coendou quichua) is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae.[2] It is found in the Andes of northern Ecuador and Colombia as well as in Panama.[1] This porcupine is little known, but is probably arboreal, nocturnal and solitary like its relatives.[1] The species is thought to be uncommon to rare and the population decreasing. It is threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation and agriculture.[1]

Andean porcupine
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Erethizontidae
Genus: Coendou
Species:
C. quichua
Binomial name
Coendou quichua
Thomas, 1899

Although it is morphologically distinctive, it has sometimes been described as a subspecies of the bicolored-spined porcupine (C. bicolor).[2][3] However, genetic studies have shown it to be closest to the stump-tailed porcupine (C. rufescens).[4]

References

  1. Delgado, C. (2016). "Coendou quichua". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T136702A22214415. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T136702A22214415.en. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  2. Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1547. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. Voss, R. S. (2003-12-09). "A New Species of Thomasomys (Rodentia: Muridae) from Eastern Ecuador, with Remarks on Mammalian Diversity and Biogeography in the Cordillera Oriental" (PDF). American Museum Novitates. American Museum of Natural History. 3421: 1–47. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2003)421<0001:ANSOTR>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/2850. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  4. Voss, R. S.; Hubbard, C.; Jansa, S. A. (February 2013). "Phylogenetic Relationships of New World Porcupines (Rodentia, Erethizontidae): Implications for Taxonomy, Morphological Evolution, and Biogeography". American Museum Novitates. 3769 (3769): 1–36. doi:10.1206/3769.2. hdl:2246/6417. S2CID 55426177.


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