Notes on the natural history of the Stump-tailed Porcupine, Coendou rufescens (Rodentia, Erethizontidae), in Colombia

Abstract

Porcupines of the genus Coendou are among the least studied mammals in the Neotropics. The Stump-tailed Porcupine, Coendou rufescens, is distributed in the Andean region from Colombia and south to Bolivia. Despite its wide distribution, nothing is known about its natural history, besides observation of banana consumption in captivity. Here we present new observations on the feeding habits, diurnal activity, and the use of the tail for support during feeding obtained by means of collaborative (citizen) science. We also comment on its locomotion on land and in trees. We observed five diurnal events of C. rufescens feeding on infructescences of trumpet tree (Cecropia angustifolia Trécul). During the feeding activities, the Stump-tailed Porcupine used the tail for stability and support. These are the first observations of such behavior in the wild for this species and suggest a more diurnal activity for this species which belongs to a group of rodents traditionally considered to be predominantly nocturnal.

Phylogenetic relationships, distribution, and conservation of Roosmalens’ dwarf porcupine, Coendou roosmalenorum Voss & da Silva, 2001 (Rodentia, Erethizontidae)

“…The municipality of Aripuanã (Mato Grosso state), from where the new record of C. roosmalenorum came, has lost 1,226 km 2 of forest cover in the same period ( INPE 2023 ). In addition to habitat loss, Coendou species face other threats in South America such as subsistence hunting, predation by domestic dogs, and roadkills ( Ramírez-Chaves et al 2020b , 2021 ). Moreover, a recent infection by Brazilian porcupine poxvirus has been described ( Hora et al 2021 ) and recorded in two Coendou species of different subgenera: C. ( Sphiggurus ) spinosus (F. Cuvier, 1823) ( Guerra et al 2022 ) and Coendou ( Coendou ) longicaudatus ( Silva et al 2023 ).…”

“…Thermal drones, for example, have been efficient to survey and monitor large primates and could be used for other arboreal mammals ( de Melo 2021 ). Citizen-science data, mainly animals photographed by the community, may provide new records, as attested by a recent publication on the genus by Ramírez-Chaves et al (2020b) .…”

Infestation, histology, and molecular confirmation of Sarcoptes scabiei in an Andean porcupine (Coendou quichua) from the Central Andes of Colombia

“…Sarcoptic mange epizootics have been associated with high mortality, but most populations recover ( Pence and Ueckermann, 2002 ). Nonetheless, due to the limited population information on porcupines and kinkajous in Colombia ( Ramírez-Chaves et al, 2016 , Ramírez-Chaves et al, 2020 ), it is urgent to evaluate the risk of this condition on their populations, which would add to the problems that the species faces that include deforestation and habitat fragmentation driven by agriculture ( Delgado, 2016 ).…”

New records of mammals of the Coffee Region, Central Andes of Colombia using citizen science

“…Furthermore, we obtained photo-vouchers and videos donated by local people and CHEC staff taken at the study area between 2014 and 2019 pre-and post-workshops. We used the photographs to complete the information on the mammal species of the study area, a technique that has been also implemented in other studies to obtain additional data on mammals from Colombia (Ramírez-Chaves et al 2020a, 2020bTorres-Martínez et al 2020).…”