Erethizontidae Bonaparte 1845

Erethizontidae Bonaparte 1845, Cat. Meth. Mamm. Europe: 5.

Synonyms: Coendidae Trouessart 1897 .

Genera: 5 genera with 16 species in 2 subfamilies:

Subfamily Chaetomyinae Thomas 1896

Genus Chaetomys Gray 1843 (1 species)

Subfamily Erethizontinae Bonaparte 1845

Genus Coendou Lacépède 1799 (4 species with 4 subspecies)

Genus Echinoprocta Gray 1865 (1 species)

Genus Erethizon F. Cuvier 1823 (1 species with 7 subspecies)

Genus Sphiggurus F. Cuvier 1825 (9 species with 3 subspecies)

Discussion: Spelled Erithizontidae by Corbet and Hill (1980:189); but see comments under Erethizon . Extinct forms date to the Oligocene of South America. Not included in the parvorder Caviida with the other New World Hystricognathi by McKenna and Bell (1997) but placement into a New World clade well supported by molecular data (Huchon and Douzery, 2001; Nedbal et al., 1994).