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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. After the capybara and the beaver, Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents. Most porcupines are about 25-36 inches (60-90 cm) long, with an 8-10 inch (20-25 cm) long tail. Weighing between 12-35 pounds (5-16 kg), they are rounded, large and slow. Porcupines come in various shades of brown, grey, and the unusual white. The name "porcupine" comes from Middle French porc d'épine "thorny pig". Porcupines' spiny protection resembles that of the distantly related Erinaceomorph hedgehogs and more distantly related Monotreme Echidnas.
Species
A porcupine is any of 27 [[sp
Pderably: Rothschild's Porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2#); the [[African hey 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 andare to the Old World porcupines.
Quills
A porcupine eating grass and clovers at dusk.
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.
Porcupine quills are as sharp as needles, detach very easily, and will remain embedded in an attacker. Unlike needles, however, the quills of New World porcupines have microscopic, backwards-facing barbs on the tip that catch on the skin making them difficult and painful to extract, though they must be removed. Quills are about 75 millimetres (3.0 in) long and 2 millimetres (0.079 in) wide. If a quill becomes lodged in the tissues of a would-be attacker, the barbs act to pull the quill further into the tissues with the normal muscle movements of the attacker, moving up to several millimeters in a day. Predators have been known to die as a result of quill penetration and infection. Quills are still capable of penetrating animals and humans even after death. [1]
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 and grasslands. Some live in trees, others stay on the ground.
A porcupine foraging for grubs in the grass.
Salt licks
Porcupines in search of salt sometimes encroach on human habitats, eating plywood cured with sodium nitrate,[2] 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 porcupine damage.
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 impregnated with urine.[3]
Porcupines as food
In parts of Africa and Arabia, porcupines are eaten as a form of bush meat. Porcupine meat is also appreciated in some regions of Italy and Vietnam.citation needed
Etymology and Mythology
- The name "porcupine" comes from Middle French porc d'épine which could be translated as "thorny", "spined", or "quilled" "pork" or "pig", hence the nickname "quill pig" for the animal.citation needed A group of porcupines is called a "prickle".citation needed
- From ancient times it was believedcitation needed that porcupines can throw their quills at an enemy. This has long been refuted, being the result of loose quills being shaken free.[4][5]
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
References
- ^ North American porcupines. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
- ^ Morrisson, Philip; Morrisson, Phyllis. "Wonders: The Needy Porcupine", Scientific American, March 2001. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
- ^ Olson, Rich; Andrea M. Lewis (May 1999). Porcupine Ecology and Damage Management Techniques for Rural Homeowners. University of Wyoming, Cooperative Extension Service, 4. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1823 Edition. Page 501. Google Book Search
- ^ Goodwin, Thomas Shepard. Natural History, a Manual of Zoology. New York, 1865. Page 78. Google Book Search
External links
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