Sphiggurus melanurus Wagner 1842

Sphiggurus melanurus Wagner 1842, Arch. Naturgesch., I: 360.

Type Locality: Brazil, Rio Negro, Barra.

Vernacular Names: Black-tailed Hairy Dwarf Porcupine.

Distribution: North of the Amazon in the Amazon Basin of Brazil, the Guianas, Colombia, and probably Venezuela.

Discussion: Considered conspecific with insidiosus by Cabrera (1961) and Husson (1978), but see Voss and Angermann (1997). Considered a distinct species by Emmons and Feer (1997), Handley and Pine (1992), and Voss and Angermann (1997); a position supported by molecular and karyotypic data (Bonvicino et al., 2002 a). Karyotype has 2n=72 and FN=76 (Bonvicino et al., 2002 a).