Porcupine

Porcupines
North American Porcupine
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Hystricomorpha
General
Family Erethizontidae Coendou Sphiggurus Erethizon Echinoprocta Chaetomys Family Hystricidae Atherurus Hystrix Thecurus Trichys

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend them from predators. They are endemic in both the Old World and the New World. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about 25–36 in (63–91 cm) long, with an 8–10 in (20–25 cm) long tail. Weighing between 12–35 lb (5.4–16 kg), they are rounded, large and slow. Porcupines come in various shades of brown, grey, and the unusual white. Porcupines' spiny protection resembles that of the unrelated erinaceomorph hedgehogs and monotreme echidnas.

The name "porcupine" comes from Middle French porc d'épine which could be translated as "thorny porc", "spined porc" or "quilled porc", hence the nickname "quill pig" for the animal. A group of porcupines is called a "prickle".^[1]

Species

Old World porcupine

A porcupine is any of 27 species of rodent belonging to the families Erethizontidae or Hystricidae. Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's Porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2.2 lb (1.00 kg)); the African Porcupine can grow to well over 10 kg (22 lb). The two families of porcupines are quite different and although both belong to the Hystricognathi branch of the vast order Rodentia, they are not closely related. The eleven Old World porcupines are almost exclusively terrestrial, tend to be fairly large, and have quills that are grouped in clusters. They are believed to have separated from the other hystricognaths about 30 million years ago, much earlier than the New World porcupines.

The twelve New World porcupines are mostly smaller (although the North American Porcupine reaches about 85 cm/33 in in length and 18 kg/40 lb), have their quills attached singly rather than grouped in clusters, and are excellent climbers, spending much of their time in trees. The New World porcupines evolved their spines independently (through convergent evolution) and are more closely related to several other families of rodent than they are to the Old World porcupines. Porcupines have a relatively high longevity and until recently held the record for being the longest living rodent,^[2] recently broken by the Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber).^[3]

Quills

Porcupines' quills or spines take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of keratin, and they are embedded in the skin musculature. Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) have quills embedded in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) single quills are interspersed with bristles, underfur, and hair.

Quills are released by contact with them, or they may drop out when the porcupine shakes its body, but cannot be projected at attackers, contrary to popular belief. New quills grow to replace lost ones.

Habitats

Porcupines occupy a wide range of habitats in tropical and temperate parts of Asia, Italy, Africa, and North and South America. Porcupines live in forests, deserts, rocky outcrops, hillsides and grasslands. Some new world porcupines live in trees, but old world porcupines stay on the ground. Porcupines can be found on rocky areas up to 3,700 m (12,000 ft) high. Porcupines are nocturnal.

Salt licks

Porcupines in search of salt sometimes encroach on human habitats, eating plywood cured with sodium nitrate,^[4] certain paints, and tool handles, footwear, clothes and other items that have been coated in salty sweat. Porcupines are attracted to roads in areas where rock salt is used to melt ice and snow, and are known to gnaw on vehicle tires or wiring coated in road salt. Salt licks placed nearby can prevent porcupines from injuring themselves.

Natural sources of salt consumed by porcupines include varieties of salt-rich plants (such as yellow water lily and aquatic liverwort), fresh animal bones, outer tree bark, mud in salt-rich soils, and objects imbued with urine.^[5]

Miscellany

• From ancient times it was believed that porcupines can throw their quills at an enemy. This has long been refuted, being the result of loose quills being shaken free.^[6][7]
• Porcupines have become a pest in Kenya and are eaten as a delicacy.^[8]

Classification

A North American porcupine foraging for grubs in the grass.

Order Rodentia

• Suborder Hystricomorpha
  • Infraorder Hystricognathi
    • Family Hystricidae: Old World porcupines
      • African Brush-tailed Porcupine, Atherurus africanus
      • Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine, Atherurus macrourus
      • African Porcupine, Hystrix cristata
      • Cape Porcupine, Hystrix africaeaustralis
      • Himalayan Porcupine, Hystrix hodgsoni
      • Indian Porcupine, Hystrix indicus
      • Malayan Porcupine, Hystrix brachyura
      • Sunda Porcupine, Hystrix javanica
      • Sumatran Porcupine, Hystrix sumatrae
      • Bornean Porcupine, Thecurus crassispinis
      • Philippine Porcupine, Thecurus pumilis
      • Long-tailed Porcupine, Trichys fasciculata
    • Family Thryonomyidae: cane rats
    • Family Petromuridae: Dassie Rat
    • Family Bathyergidae: African mole-rats
    • Family Hydrochaeridae: capybara
    • Family Caviidae: cavies
    • Family Dasyproctidae: agoutis and acouchis
    • Family Erethizontidae: New World porcupines
      • Brazilian Porcupine, Coendou prehensilis
      • Bicolor-spined Porcupine, Coendou bicolor
      • Koopman's Porcupine, Coendou koopmani
      • Rothschild's Porcupine, Coendou rothschildi
      • Mexican Tree Porcupine, Sphiggurus mexicanus
      • South American Tree Porcupine, Sphiggurus spinosus
      • Bahia Hairy Dwarf Porcupine, Sphiggurus insidiosus
      • Pallid Hairy Dwarf Porcupine, Sphiggurus pallidus (extinct)
      • Brown Hairy Dwarf Porcupine, Sphiggurus vestitus
      • Orange-spined Hairy Dwarf Porcupine, Sphiggurus villosus
      • North American Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum
      • Stump-tailed Porcupine, Echinoprocta rufescens
      • Bristle-spined Porcupine, Chaetomys subspinosus (sometimes considered an echymid)
    • Family Chinchillidae: chinchillas and allies
    • Family Ctenomyidae: tuco-tucos
    • Family Myocastoridae: Coypu
    • Family Octodontidae: octodonts
    • Family Ctenodactylidae: gundis

Notes

External links

Look up porcupine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hystricidae

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Porcupine

• Porcupines: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
• "Resource Cards: What About Porcupines?" Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Porcupine control in the western states hosted by the UNT Government Documents Department
• Porcupine Tracks: How to identify porcupine tracks in the wild