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Coendou prehensilis
Brazilian porcupine
(Also: prehensile-tailed porcupine)


By Bridget Fahey

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Erethizontidae
Genus: Coendou
Species: Coendou prehensilis

Geographic Range

South America: Venezuela, Guianas, Brazil, Bolivia, and Trinidad.

Biogeographic Regions
neotropical (Native )

Habitat

These porcupines live in forests between 150-2500 meters in elevation. They occur both in coastal and Amazonian areas of Peru. Occasionally, this species enters cultivated areas.

Terrestrial Biomes
rainforest

Physical Description

Range mass
0.900 to 5.000 kg
(1.98 to 11.01 lb)

Average basal metabolic rate
5.123 W
[External Source: AnAge]

Body length is between 300-600 mm. Dorsal side is covered with short spines. Coloration of dorsal side varies from yellow to black, venter is usually gray. No spines are found on the tail, which is long (330-485 mm) and prehensile. Feet are reflective of their arboreal lifestyle, with long-clawed digits.

Reproduction

Range number of offspring
1.000 to 1.000

Average number of offspring
1
[External Source: AnAge]

Range gestation period
195 to 210 days

Average birth mass
408 g
(14.38 oz)
[External Source: AnAge]

Range weaning age
28.000 to 70.000 days

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female

578 days
[External Source: AnAge]

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male

578 days
[External Source: AnAge]

There is no breeding season. Little is known about courtship and mating interactions between the sexes. Gestation lasts 203 days, after which one precocial young is born. Young weigh 415 grams at birth and can climb almost immediately. Weaning occurs after 10 weeks, adult size is reached in less than a year, and sexual maturity (for females) is achieved in 19 months. Females mate right after young are born.

Parental Investment
precocial

Lifespan/Longevity

Average lifespan
Status: captivity

17.3 years
[External Source: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research]

Average lifespan
Status: wild

17.0 years
[External Source: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research]

Average lifespan
Status: captivity

9.0 years
[External Source: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research]

Behavior

Prehensile-tailed porcupines are nocturnal and arboreal. During the day, individuals rest in trees at a height of 6-10 meters. Intra-specific interactions consist of biting and attempts to injure adversaries with their sharp quills. When excited, porcupines stamp their hind feet. Vocalizations consist of growls and cries. If caught, these porcupines roll into a ball. The prehensile tail is used to curl around branches when climbing.

Key Behaviors
solitary

Food Habits

The diet is primarily vegetation, including leaves, tender, stems, fruits, blossoms, and roots. They get at the cambium layer of trees by peeling away the bark. They also have been found to raid guava, bananas and corn from plantations.

Plant Foods
leaves; wood, bark, or stems; fruit; flowers

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Prehensile-tailed porcupines are used as food in many parts of South America.

Positive Impacts
food

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

These porcupines can damage crops, which they occasionally raid for food.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [Link]
Least Concern
More Information

CITES [Link]
No special status

Not currently endangered, although habitat destruction affects them adversely.

For More Information

Find Coendou prehensilis information at

Contributors

Bridget Fahey (author), University of Michigan.

References

Nowak, R.M. Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press.

To cite this page: Fahey, B. 1999. "Coendou prehensilis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed May 21, 2012 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Coendou_prehensilis.html

Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

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