NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Tome's Spiny-rat
Proechimys semispinosus (Tomes, 1860)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Tome's Spiny Rat (Proechimys semispinosus) in Panama
Bio.Mundi18 · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Tome's spiny rat (Proechimys semispinosus), also known as Tomes' spiny rat or the Central American spiny rat, is a species of spiny rat distributed from Honduras to Ecuador. The IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Wikipedia contributors, Tome's spiny rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:23:32.999619+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Proechimys semispinosus (Tomes, 1860)
- Name authority
- (Tomes, 1860)
- Common name
- Tome's Spiny-rat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Echimyidae
- Genus
- Proechimys
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
- infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
- familyEchimyidae Gray, 1825
- subfamilyEchimyinae Gray, 1825
- tribeMyocastorini Ameghino, 1902
- genusProechimys J. A. Allen, 1899
- speciesProechimys semispinosus (Tomes, 1860)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Proechimys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Boyacá Spiny-ratProechimys chrysaeolus (Thomas, 1898) | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Simon's Spiny-ratProechimys simonsi Thomas, 1900 | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Trinidad Spiny-ratProechimys trinitatis (J. A. Allen & Chapman, 1893) | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Minca Spiny-ratProechimys mincae (J. A. Allen, 1899) | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Short-tailed Spiny-ratProechimys brevicauda (Günther, 1877) | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Colombian Spiny-ratProechimys canicollis (J. A. Allen, 1899) | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cuvier's Spiny-ratProechimys cuvieri Petter, 1978 | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pacific Spiny-ratProechimys decumanus (Thomas, 1899) | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Stiff-spine Spiny-ratProechimys echinothrix da Silva, 1998 | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gardner's Spiny-ratProechimys gardneri da Silva, 1998 | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Goeldi's Spiny-ratProechimys goeldii Thomas, 1905 | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Guaira Spiny-ratProechimys guairae Thomas, 1901 | EchimyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Echimys semispinosus Tomes, 1860 Tomes, 1860 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
South America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584853 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4MQLJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.