Coendou speratus
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Erethizontidae
Coendou
Coendou speratus

description: 11.
Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupine
Coendou speratus
French: Coendou du Pernambuco / German: Pernambuco-Greifstachler / Spanish: Puercoespin de Pernambuco
Other common names: Hope Porcupine
Taxonomy. Coendou speratus Pontes et al., 2013.
“Mata Taua, Usina Trapiche, municipality of Sirinhaém, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, 8° 33’ 46-13” 8, 35° 10° 9-09” W, ¢l- evation 85 m.”
Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome-b sequence data place C. speratus as closely related to C. insidiosus, C. nycthemera, and C. spinosus. Analysis did not include samples from C. bicolor. Distribution of C. speratus overlaps that of C. prehensilis but not those of C. insidiosus or C. nycthemera. Monotypic.
Distribution. E Brazil, known only from the Pernambuco Endemism Center and from the municipalities of Murici and Vicosa in Alagoas State.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 330-440 mm, tail 286-320 mm, ear 16-27 mm, hindfoot 50-58 mm; weight 1.4-1.6 kg. The Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupine is small and brownish red, lacks emergent fur, and thus appears spiny. Dorsal spines are mostly tricolored, bright yellow at bases, black in middles, and brownish red toward tips, and they cover head to mid-back. Dorsal spines have long black bands and short brownish red tips in some individuals and short black bands and long brownish red tips in others. Spines on dorsum are generally grouped in very sharp pairs or triads, some with barbed tips. All Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupines have less conspicuous black-tipped quills that are light yellow at bases. Head has tricolored quills that are yellowish at bases, black in middles, and brownish red toward tips, and bristles that are yellowish white at bases, black in middles, and light brownish red toward tips. Ears are rounded and flat with yellow-tipped black hairs on inner sides. Muzzle is pinkish and bulbous and covered with brownish to black short hairs. Mystacial vibrissae are sparsely distributed and long (¢.90 mm), extending beyond shoulders. Frontal sinuses are not inflated; roof of external auditory meatus varies from smooth in some individuals and weakly keeled in others. Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupines have long, prehensile tails, with lengths 65-93% of head-body lengths. Dorsal surface of proximal one-half of tail is covered with short (¢.26 mm) bicolored quills that get shorter toward distal end. Distal one-half of tail is covered with 13 mm long dark brown to reddish brown bristles, including on ventral surface, expect for the naked tip. Rump and thighs are covered with shorter bicolored quills, with larger yellow bands at bases and black tips; yellow varies from dark to light among individuals. Ventral surface is sparsely covered with 14mm, grayish to totally white hairs that also cover inner forelimbs and hindlimbs.
Habitat. Submontane remnant dense tropical forest and open-canopy tropical rainforest and deciduous seasonal forest along the Atlantic coast of Brazil.
Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupine does eat fruits of the exotic African oil palm (Elaeus guineensis, Arecaceae).
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. The Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupine is nocturnal and arboreal and has been observed resting in tree branches at heights of 10-20 m between ¢.19:00 h and 01:00 h.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupines den in hollow trees and have a strong characteristic odor, stronger than that of the Brazilian Porcupine (C. prehensilis). The Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupine appears to be solitary, but individuals have been sighted together.
Status and Conservation. The Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupine has not been assessed on The IUCN Red List. It inhabits forest fragments in a biodiversity hotspot. It was given the specific epithet “speratus,” which means “hope,” to raise awareness of the high rate of habitat loss in the Pernambuco Endemism Center. Given its small distribution and high rate of habitat conversion within its distribution, the Pernambuco Dwarf Porcupine is likely at significant conservation risk.
Bibliography. Hance (2013), Nascimento & dos Santos (2014), Pontes et al. (2013), Voss (2015).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Erethizontidae, pp. 372-397 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 378-379, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6603219