Smallest porcupine
Who
Bahia or pallid hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou [formerly Shiggurus] insidiosus
What
1.2 kilogram(s)
Where
Brazil ()
When

The world's smallest species of porcupine is the Bahia or pallid hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou [formerly Shiggurus] insidiosus, which measures up to 70 cm in total length, but almost half of that is accounted for by its proportionately long, prehensile tail. It only weighs 1.2–1.5 kg. Native to evergreen forests in the Caatinga region of southeastern Brazil, it is a member of the New World taxonomic family of porcupines, Erethizontidae.


There are two entirely separate taxonomic families of porcupine. The members of one of these families, Hystricidae, are found exclusively in the Old World, whereas the members of the other family, Erethizontidae, are found exclusively in the New World.

Genetic and anatomical studies have revealed that despite their superficial, outward appearance, sharing a dense covering of spines as a defensive mechanism, the two families are not closely related to one another.

The spines of New World porcupines are much shorter than those of Old World porcupines, but are barbed at their tips, causing them to lodge in a victim's skin and making them difficult to remove easily.