''Eopululo'' is the oldest known genus of

New World porcupine The New World porcupines, family Erethizontidae, are large arboreal rodents, distinguished by their spiny coverings from which they take their name. They inhabit forests and wooded regions across North America, and into northern South America. A ...

s (Erethizontidae). It is known only from the possibly late

Late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "daw ...

to Early Oligocene ( Divisaderan to

Deseadan The Deseadan ( es, Deseadense) age is a period of geologic time (29.0–21.0 Ma) within the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene to the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification of South America. It fo ...

in the SALMA classification) of the Yahuarango Formation at the

Santa Rosa local fauna The Santa Rosa local fauna consists of the animals found in the Paleogene fossil site of Santa Rosa in eastern Peru. The age of the Santa Rosa fauna is difficult to determine, but may be Eocene (Mustersan) or Oligocene (Deseadan). History and co ...

site of

Ucayali Department Ucayali () is an inland department and region of Peru. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the Ucayali River. Its capital is the city of Pucallpa. It is the second largest department in Peru, after Loreto. Geography ...

, eastern Peru.''Eopululo''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.org There is only one species in the genus, ''Eopululo wigmorei''. It was described in 2004, and it is a member of one of the oldest rodent faunas known from South America.

References

Erethizontidae Eocene mammals of South America Oligocene mammals of South America Deseadan Tinguirirican Divisaderan Paleogene Peru Fossils of Peru Fossil taxa described in 2004 {{rodent-stub