Chordates • Earth.com

Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine

(Sphiggurus spinosus)

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Description

The Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou spinosus, is a South American porcupine species from the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. They have a short tail and gray brown quills and feed on fruits, ant pupae, vegetables and roots. This species was formerly sometimes assigned to Sphiggurus, a genus no longer recognized since genetic studies showed it to be polyphyletic. The population formerly recognized as the orange-spined hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus villosus) has been reclassified to this species. Its closest relatives are the bicolored-spined porcupine (Coendou bicolor) and the black dwarf porcupine (Coendou nycthemera). Sphiggurus are a genus of scavengers. Sphiggurus belongs to the family Erethizontidae.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Mammalia
Order:Rodentia
Family:Erethizontidae
Genus:Sphiggurus
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