Richness and distribution of porcupines (Erethizontidae: Coendou) from Colombia

Abstract

: In spite of previous reviews, there is still no consensus on the information associated to the richness of the genus Coendou in Colombia. To clarify some issues concerning the distribution and the taxonomic identity of the species of Coendou in the country, we reviewed specimens from five natural history collections. We introduce the first record of Coendou ichillus from the Orinoco river basin of the country, extending the distribution of the species by more than 600 km to the north from previous known localities in Ecuador and Peru. Additionally, we present new records of C. pruinosus and C. quichua from the Amazonia and inter-Andean valleys, respectively. Only one skull presents the diagnostic characters of C . bicolor ; thus, previous records of this species for the country were based on misidentifications. Coendou is distributed in seven of the nine geographic provinces of Colombia. Coendou prehensilis was found in five provinces and is expected to be present in the Amazonia, whereas C. pruinosus was documented in three provinces (North Andean, Orinoco and Guyana). The rest of the species of Coendou were distributed in one or two provinces. The richest provinces were North Andean and Orinoco with six and four Coendou species, respectively. The elevational ranges of C. prehensilis and C. pruinosus are revised to 0 -1975 and 90 -2200 m, respectively.

Sarcoptic mange in wild quichua porcupines (Coendou quichua Thomas, 1899) in Colombia

“…Coendou quichua is a medium-sized porcupine, distributed in western Colombia, Panama and Ecuador, from sea level to 3300 m ( Voss, 2015 , Ramírez-Chaves et al, 2016 ). C. quichua is classified as Data Deficient according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( Delgado, 2016 ).…”

Filling distribution gaps: new records of the Brazilian Porcupine, Coendou prehensilis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mammalia, Rodentia), in 10 departments of Colombia

“…The genus Coendou Lacépède, 1799 (Rodentia, Erethizontidae) comprises 14 or 15 species of Neotropical porcupines (Voss 2015;Barthelmess 2016). Most of the richness of the genus is represented in Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador (Voss 2015;Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016;Menezes et al 2020). In Colombia, six species NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION of porcupines have been recorded (Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016).…”

“…Most of the richness of the genus is represented in Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador (Voss 2015;Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016;Menezes et al 2020). In Colombia, six species NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION of porcupines have been recorded (Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016). Knowledge of the distribution and biology of Coen dou in Colombia has increased in the last decade (Voss 2011(Voss , 2015Racero-Casarrubia et al 2016;Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016Leon-Alvarado and Ramírez-Chaves 2017;Gonzalez-Astudillo et al 2018;Torres-Martínez et al 2019).…”

“…In Colombia, six species NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION of porcupines have been recorded (Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016). Knowledge of the distribution and biology of Coen dou in Colombia has increased in the last decade (Voss 2011(Voss , 2015Racero-Casarrubia et al 2016;Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016Leon-Alvarado and Ramírez-Chaves 2017;Gonzalez-Astudillo et al 2018;Torres-Martínez et al 2019). However, there are still several gaps in the distribution for most Coen dou species in the country due to the few specimens in natural history collections, which limit our knowledge on the distribution patterns of the species of the genus (Alberico et al 1999;Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016).…”

“…The Brazilian Porcupine, Coendou prehensilis (Linnaeus, 1758), is potentially the most widely distributed porcupine in the lowlands of Colombia, with records in 17 continental departments and expected presence in the departments of Arauca, Cauca, Nariño, Guainía, Huila, Santander, and Vaupés (Torres-Martínez et al 2019). The records come mainly from the Amazonia, Orinoco, Peri-Caribbean Arid Belt, Guyana, and North Andean Biogeographic provinces (Ramírez-Chaves et al 2016;Racero-Casarrubia et al 2016;Torres-Martínez et al 2019). Despite its wide distribution, C. prehensilis has scarcely been studied, and there are several gaps in this species' distribution, ecology, and natural history.…”