The prehensile-tailed porcupines or coendous (genus Coendou) are found in Central and South America. Two other formerly recognized Neotropical tree porcupine genera, Echinoprocta and Sphiggurus, have been subsumed into Coendou, since Sphiggurus was shown by genetic studies to be polyphyletic, while Echinoprocta nested within Coendou.
Characteristics Among the most notable features of Coendou porcupines are their unspined prehensile tails. The front and hind feet are also modified for grasping. These limbs all contribute to making this animal an adept climber, an adaptation to living most of their lives in trees.
They feed on leaves, shoots, fruits, bark, roots, and buds. They can be pests of plantation crops. They also make a distinctive "baby-like" sound to communicate in the wild.
Their young are born with soft hair that hardens to quills with age. Adults are slow-moving and will roll into a ball when threatened and on the ground. The record longevity is 27 years.
Species Genus Coendou – prehensile-tailed porcupines Baturite porcupine – C. baturitensis Bicolored-spined porcupine – C. bicolor Streaked dwarf porcupine – C. ichillus Bahia porcupine – C. insidiosus Black-tailed hairy dwarf porcupine – C. melanurus Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine – C. mexicanus Black dwarf porcupine – C. nycthemera Amazonian long-tailed porcupine – C. longicaudatus Brazilian porcupine – C. prehensilis Frosted hairy dwarf porcupine – C. pruinosus Andean porcupine – C. quichua Roosmalen's dwarf porcupine – C. roosmalenorum Stump-tailed porcupine – C. rufescens Santa Marta porcupine – C. sanctamartae Dwarf porcupine – C. speratus Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine – C. spinosus Brown hairy dwarf porcupine – C. vestitus Voss' porcupine – C. vossi
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