The rufous soft-furred spiny-rat (''Diplomys labilis''), known as ''ratón espinoso'' meaning "spiny" or "thorny" rat in Spanish, is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family

Echimyidae Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to terres ...

. It is found in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. In November 2015, it was spotted for the first time in Osa, Costa Rica by the Costa Rican researcher Jim Córdoba-Alfaro. It is nocturnal and lives in trees, feeding on fruit and young shoots. The females give birth to one or two young, which stay with the mother for about a year before becoming mature.

References

* Diplomys Mammals of Colombia Mammals of Ecuador Rodents of Central America Mammals described in 1901 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Echimyidae-stub