Sphiggurus mexicanus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sighting in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 6 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, June and September, the lowest months. Those are among Los Quetzales National Park's wettest months, with about 580 mm of rain a month against 70 mm in February.
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.
5th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sightings, Los Quetzales National Park ranks 5th at about 20%. 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%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine is recorded against all the mammals logged in Los Quetzales National Park (18 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.
