Coendou vossi
| Coendou vossi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Erethizontidae |
| Genus: | Coendou |
| Species: | C. vossi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Coendou vossi Ramírez-Chávez et al, 2025
| |
Coendou vossi is small porcupine of the Coendou genus endemic to Colombia.
Distribution
[edit]Specimens of Coendou vossi can be found from the humid and dry forests of the inter-Andean valley of the Magdalena and the Caribbean.[1] It inhabits dry areas of the departments of Caldas, Cesar, Cundinamarca, Santander, Sucre and Tolima.
Description
[edit]Unlike C. quichua and C. rothschildi to which it is closely related, C. vossi is smaller, measuring between 26 and 33 cm. Its tail is more elongated, covering 70% of its body, facilitating arboreal behaviour. The barbs of C. vossi are bicoloured or tricoloured, being lighter at the base, measuring 27 to 55 mm. On the face they measure 5 to 10 mm.[2]
The back has a sparse dark brown coat, darker than the other species with which it has been confused in the past. Its skull is less elongated.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Ramírez-Chaves, Héctor E; Mazepa, Glib O; Morales-Martínez, Darwin M; Suárez-Castro, Andrés Felipe; Colmenares-Pinzón, Javier E; Pulido-Santacruz, Paola; Noguera-Urbano, Elkin A (2025-01-03). Moratelli, Ricardo (ed.). "A review of the Quichua Porcupine Coendou quichua complex (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) with the description of a new species from Colombia". Journal of Mammalogy. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyae140. ISSN 0022-2372.
- ^ a b Caicedo, Edwin (2025-02-07). "Descubren en Colombia una nueva especie de puercoespín, el Coendou vossi: ¿cuáles son sus características?". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-02-11.