Sphiggurus spinosus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine (Coendou spinosus) is a porcupine species from the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. They have a short tail and gray brown quills and feed on fruits, ant pupae, vegetables and roots.
This species was formerly sometimes assigned to Sphiggurus, a genus no longer recognised since genetic studies showed it to be polyphyletic. The population formerly recognised as the orange-spined hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus villosus) has been reclassified to this species. Its closest relatives are the bicolored-spined porcupine (Coendou bicolor) and the black dwarf porcupine (Coendou nycthemera).
John F. Eisenberg and Kent H. Redford, 2000. Mammals of Neotropics: Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. Wikipedia →
Recording0:11
Brazil · 2025
© Leandro Peres · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Brazil · 2025
© uriraz · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Brazil · 2018
© Fernando Costa Straube · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sighting in Tijuca National Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 9th most-seen of the 14 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, September and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine in Tijuca National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March–August, October and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine sightings, Tijuca National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same order: Rodentia
The closest relatives of the Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine that you can see in Tijuca National Park (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Capybara (about 20%), Crested Agouti (about 10%) and Spotted Paca (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine is recorded against all the mammals logged in Tijuca National Park (26 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.
