The Malabar spiny dormouse (Platacanthomys lasiurus) is a species of muroid rodent endemic to the Western Ghats of India.

About the size of a brown rat, this arboreal species lives in tree holes in dense forest habitats in a small family group.

They are distinguishable from other species in the area by their bushy tuft tip to the tail and the spiny fur on the back.

[2] The fur on the back has scattered broad and flat spiny hairs with white tips.

[4] The genus name is derived from the flattened (platy-) spines (Greek acantha), while mus refers to a mouse.

[9] The exact phylogenetic relations of Platacanthomys have not been examined using sequence based approaches although Typhlomys has been confirmed to belong within the Muroid clade.

[12] The species is found only in the denser forest regions of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiri hills.

[3] The species is believed to feed on pepper in plantations, but trapping surveys suggest they are mainly restricted to undisturbed forest habitats.