Coendow ichillus Voss & da Silva 2001
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
Coendow
Coendow ichillus

description: 15.
Western Amazonian Dwarf Porcupine
Coendow ichillus
French: Coendou a longue queue / German: Streifen-Greifstachler / Spanish: Puercoespin manchado
Other common names: Streaked Dwarf Porcupine
Taxonomy. Coendou ichillus Voss & da Silva, 2001,
“Rio Pastaza,” Pastaza, Ecuador.
Presence of soft fur in dorsal pelage, bristle-quills, and defensive quills places C. ichillus in the “ C. vestitus group” along with C. pruinosus, C. roosmalenorum, and C. vestitus. Monotypic.
Distribution. Lowlands of E Ecuador and NE Peru but may occur throughout most of NW Amazonia N of the Amazon River and W of the Rio Negro.
Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.260-290 mm, tail 210-250 mm; no specific data available for body weight. The Western Amazonian Dwarf Porcupine is small, blackish-yellow, and spiny. Head carries some tricolored spines with ivory-white bases, dark middle bands, and whitish tips.
Fine mystacial vibrissae are similar to those of the Blackish Hairy Dwarf Porcupine (C. vestitus). Emergent fur does not occur on body, but under close examination, short blackish woolly hairs are apparent, sparsely distributed among spines and bristles. Defensive quills are 30-40 mm long and yellowish at bases, with terminal one-half to onethird dark brown or blackish. There are bristle-quills, up to 80 mm long and densely scattered among defensive spines. Bristle-quills are yellowish at bases and tips and with dark-brown or blackish middle bands, resulting in streaked effect on dorsum. Tail of the Western Amazonian Dwarf Porcupine is relatively long, with tail length ¢.85% of head-body length. Dorsal base oftail is densely covered with short, bicolored quills, similar to those found on rump. Rump is also covered in a few sparse woolly hairs. Tricolored bristles extend along lateral and caudal surfaces of tail and converge on dorsal side to form an indistinct light colored (white or yellow) chevron in middle of tail. Prehensile tail tip is calloused and naked on dorsal side, with remainder densely covered with blackish bristles that are stiffer and denser under base oftail than elsewhere. Venter is covered in very short coarse bior tricolored hairs rooted most often in triples or,less often, in groups of 2—4 hairs. Hands and feet are covered dorsally with coarse blackish hairs.
Habitat. Both paratype specimens collected in dense rainforest catchments less than 500 m above sea level. Western Amazonian Dwarf Porcupines have been observed at La SelvaJungle Lodge at 300 m above sea level on the north bank of the Rio Napo—an area oftall forest on high ground and swamp in valley bottoms.
Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. The Western Amazonian Dwarf Porcupine is nocturnal and arboreal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Western Amazonian Dwarf Porcupine can inhabit holes in hollow palm trees that are being used as building supports.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List (as Sphiggurus ichillus).
Bibliography. Voss (2015), Voss & da Silva (2001), Voss et al. (2013)
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 379-380, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6603219