Sphiggurus vestitus (Thomas, 1899) . Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 4:284.

TYPE LOCALITY: Colombia .

DISTRIBUTION: Colombia, W Venezuela south of Lake Maracaibo at [+/-] 2,600 m elevation.

STATUS: Extremely rare.

SYNONYMS: pruinosus.

COMMENTS: Includes pruinosus Thomas, 1905 (see Cabrera, 1961:284). But also see Handley (1976:55), who listed pruinosus as distinct species, without comment. Emmons and Feer (1990:201) also considered pruinosus as a distinct species (Frosted Hairy Dwarf Porcupine), which is "apparently rare, known only from a few specimens" from the Andes near Mérida, Venezuela. Formerly included in Coendou (see comment under Sphiggurus).