Abstract
Aberrant pelage color patterns such as albinism have been reported in some mammal groups including rodents, but in spite of the group’s richness, the phenomenon is relatively poorly documented in the literature. Albino specimens are reported in <2% of the species of rodents, four records of neotropical species were found (Delomys dorsalis, Heteromys anomalus, Octodon degus, Phyllotis andium). Of New World porcupines (Erethizontidae), albinism was documented only in the North American species Erethizon dorsatum. Here we report the first albino record from the Neotropics for this group, a stump-tailed porcupine (Coendou rufescens) in northern Ecuador.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the friends of the Sissipamba community for their support in the fieldwork. A previous version of this manuscript was improved by critical comments provided by Ulyses Pardiñas, Reed Ojala-Barbour, associate editor Francois Catzeflis and an anonymous reviewer. We also thank Reed Ojala-Barbour for language editing.
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