Sphiggurus mexicanus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine or Mexican tree porcupine (Coendou mexicanus) is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Mexico, Nicaragua and Belize.
This species was formerly sometimes assigned to Sphiggurus, a genus no longer recognized since genetic studies showed it to be polyphyletic. Its closest relatives are the Andean porcupine (Coendou quichua) and the stump-tailed porcupine (Coendou rufescens).
This porcupine has a pale head and a dark-coloured body. The head-and-body length ranges between about 320 and 457 mm (12.6 and 18.0 in), with a tail ranging from 200 to 358 mm (8 to 14 in). The maximum weight is about 2.6 kg (6 lb). This porcupine is covered with short yellowish spines but these are almost entirely obscured by the long black hair on the body. Sometimes the spines on the shoulders and back are visible projecting through the hairs. By contrast, the head is hairless, revealing the yellowish spines. The snout is pink, broad and bulbous, and the eyes are small. The tail is prehensile, spiny and broad at the base, tapering to a point. This porcupine differs from Rothschild... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuzoofari | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Zoológico Benito Juárez | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Chapultepec Zoo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Hemsley Conservation Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 25 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, August and October–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, April–July and September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
7th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Tortuguero National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Costa Rica, about 20%).
Same order: Rodentia
The closest relatives of the Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Variegated Squirrel (about 40%), Central American Agouti (about 40%) and Red-tailed Squirrel (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine is recorded against all the mammals logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
