NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Short-tailed Porcupine
Coendou rufescens (Gray, 1865)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The stump-tailed porcupine (Coendou rufescens) is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found mainly in Colombia, with a few records from Ecuador.
This species was formerly sometimes assigned to Echinoprocta, a genus no longer recognized since genetic studies showed it to nest within Coendou. Its closest relative is the Andean porcupine (Coendou quichua).
Wikipedia contributors, Stump-tailed porcupine; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:52:45.177596+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Coendou rufescens (Gray, 1865)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1865)
- Common name
- Short-tailed Porcupine
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Erethizontidae
- Genus
- Coendou
- 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
- familyErethizontidae Bonaparte, 1845
- subfamilyErethizontinae Bonaparte, 1845
- genusCoendou Lacépède, 1799
- speciesCoendou rufescens (Gray, 1865)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Coendou. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Baturite PorcupineCoendou baturitensis Feijó & Langguth, 2013 | ErethizontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streaked Dwarf PorcupineCoendou ichillus Voss & da Silva, 2001 | ErethizontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bahia PorcupineCoendou insidiosus (Olfers, 1818) | ErethizontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mexican Hairy Dwarf PorcupineCoendou mexicanus (Kerr, 1792) | ErethizontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bicolored-spined PorcupineCoendou bicolor (Tschudi, 1844) | ErethizontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brazilian PorcupineCoendou prehensilis (Linnaeus, 1758) | ErethizontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Echinoprocta rufescens Gray, 1865 Gray, 1865 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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=1221663 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:C49RY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.