Assessment of the rarity and conservation status of theColombian endemic brownhairydwarf porcupine Coendou vestitus


MARÍA M. TORRES-MARTÍNEZ,HÉCTOR E. RAMÍREZ-CHAVES E LKIN A. NOGUER A-URBA N O and F E RNANDO C. P AS SO S


Abstract The brown hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou vesti- tus is a poorly studied Andean species endemic to Colombia. Its current Red List category is contradictory: globally it is categorized as Data Deficient but in Colombia it is cate- gorized asVulnerable. This contradiction has limited the im- plementation of conservation programmes. We evaluate the level of rarity of the species and provide consolidated information for a new assessment of its Red List status. We reviewed literature, photographs, and voucher specimens in natural history collections. Using the confirmed records, we estimated the extent of occurrence (EOO) based on the minimum convex polygon and the area of occupancy (AOO) summing the area of grid squares occupied by the species. We found that C. vestitus is very rare, with a small range, low estimated population density, occurrence in only one habitat type and small body size. The species has an EOO of 3,323 km2 and an AOO of 24 km2, based on six confirmed localities, all on the western slopes of the East- ern Cordillera, in the central Andean region of Colombia. Based on the species’ rarity, restricted distribution, and threats to its natural habitat, we recommend its categoriza- tion as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. This will help delineate research and conservation efforts for this porcu- pine, which has a highly restricted range and inhabits the threatened Andean forest.


Keywords Andes, Coendou vestitus, Colombia, Endan- gered, porcupine, threat category, voucher specimen


MARÍA M. TORRES-MARTÍNEZ (Corresponding author, orcid.org/0000-0002-


5892-0788) Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Laboratório de Biodiversidade, Conservação e Ecologia de Animais Silvestres, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Postal box 19031, CEP 81531-990, Curitiba, Brazil E-mail canasmarianita@gmail.com


HÉCTOR E. RAMÍREZ-CHAVES ( orcid.org/0000-0002-2454-9482) Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, and Centro de Museos, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia


ELKIN A. NOGUERA-URBANO ( FERNANDO C. PASSOS ( orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-4852) Instituto de


Investigación de Recursos Biológicos, Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, Colombia


orcid.org/0000-0002-8994-3130) Programa de Pós-


graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Laboratório de Biodiversidade, Conservação e Ecologia de Animais Silvestres, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil


Received 7 May 2019. Revision requested 18 June 2019. Accepted 16 August 2019. First published online 17 November 2020.


Assessing rarity To evaluate the rarity of the species we followed the crite- ria of Yu & Dobson (2000), based on four characteristics:


This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Oryx, 2021, 55(5), 765–770 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319001029


Methods Introduction


(genus Coendou) that occur in Colombia (Ramírez-Chaves et al., 2016). It is a small species (head–body length 330– 370 mm), characterized by having three types of fur: long dorsal fur, bicolored defensive fur, and bristles (Voss, 2015). Since its description more than a century ago (Thomas, 1899), it has been recorded from only six localities. This species is considered endemic to both sides of the Eastern Cordillera in the Colombian Andes, which is a complex ecosystem with topographical and biological di- versity and high levels of endemism (Olson & Dinerstein, 2002; Armenteras et al., 2003; Sánchez-Cuervo et al., 2012). Andean ecosystems are a global conservation priority as only 25% of their original extent remains (Armenteras et al., 2003). Although C. vestitus is considered rare (Ramírez-Chaves


T


et al., 2016), this condition has not been evaluated, and it has been suggested based only on the absence of data and the paucity of voucher specimens. Information on the ecology, genetics, natural history and conservation status of the spe- cies is also scarce, and in the case of the latter, contradic- tory. This porcupine is categorized as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List (Weksler et al., 2016), with the assessment considering the presence of the species from only two local- ities, although in the same assessment three localities were mentioned. Nationally, the species has been categorized as Vulnerable based on its reduced geographical range as a re- sult of habitat loss and fragmentation (Amori & Gippoliti, 2003; Alberico & Moreno, 2006; MADS, 2017). Currently, it is the only porcupine species categorized as threatened in Colombia (Alberico & Moreno, 2006). Here, based on available literature, specimens in natural history museums and collections, and data from recent records, we evaluate the level of rarity of the species and reassess its conserva- tion status.


he brown hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou vestitus is one of the rarest of the seven species of porcupines


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