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porcupine

[pawr-kyuh-pahyn]

porcupine, member of either of two rodent families, characterized by having some of its hairs modified as bristles, spines, or quills. The quills are loosely attached to the porcupines' skin and pull out easily, remaining imbedded in any predator that comes in contact with them. The New World, or tree, porcupines (family Erethizontidae) are slow-moving, more or less arboreal animals. The ends of their quills bear minute overlapping barbs; when imbedded they are very difficult to pull out and tend to work inward, piercing internal organs. The North American, or Canadian, tree porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, is found in wooded areas over most of North America, excluding the SE United States. This animal has a coat of long, shaggy, brown or black hair mixed with shorter quills. When threatened it erects its quills and backs toward its enemy, delivering a blow with its tail. Even if no contact is made quills may fly out; this has given rise to the erroneous belief that porcupines can shoot their quills. North American porcupines spend the day, singly or in groups, in rock cavities, hollow logs, or burrows. At night they forage in trees, feeding on leaves, buds and bark. They subsist in winter entirely on bark stripped from evergreens. The damage they do to trees is conspicuous, but seldom fatal. The Central and South American tree porcupines, species of the genus Coendou, have naked-tipped, prehensile tails, with which they hang from branches. Also called coendous, they are up to 20 in. (50 cm) long, including the tail, which is as long as the body. The Old World porcupines (family Hystricidae) have no barbs on their spines. The larger species belong to the genus Hystrix, and are found in scrubby areas in Asia, Africa, and SE Europe. These animals are unable to climb trees. They have extremely long black-and-white-striped quills on the hind part of the back and on the tail; some species also have crests of long bristles on their heads. The rest of the coat is a mixture of bristles or spines and short hair. The tail quills are hollow and are used to make noise; when the animal is alarmed it erects its quills and rattles its tail. If attacked it runs backwards into its enemy, leaving the attacker full of quills. It forages at night for roots and other plant foods, scuffling and grunting as it moves about. Old World porcupines dig deep burrow systems, where a number of them may live in adjoining burrows. Members of most species weigh 50 to 60 lb (23-27 kg); despite their large size they can move swiftly when alarmed. Species of several other genera, smaller and possessing spines or bristles, but no quills, are found in Africa and SE Asia; these are good tree climbers. Porcupines are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, families Erethizontidae and Hystricidae.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

porcupine

Heavy-bodied, solitary, slow-moving, nocturnal rodent with quills (modified hairs) along the back, tail, and, on certain crested species, the neck and shoulders. The quills are easily detached when touched. The New World species (four genera in family Erethizontidae) are arboreal and have barbed quills; the Old World species (four genera in family Hystricidae) are terrestrial and have unbarbed quills. The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), about 31 in. (80 cm) long with a tail about 12 in. (30 cm) long and quills about 3 in. (8 cm) long, drives its powerful tail against an assailant. For food, it favours the tender tissue beneath tree bark. Crested porcupines, the typical Old World porcupines, run backward, quills erect, into the enemy. They eat roots, fruit, and other vegetation. The African crested porcupine, the largest terrestrial rodent in Europe and Africa, may weigh 60 lb (27 kg) and have quills 14 in. (35 cm) long.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Porcupine

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 long, with an long tail. Weighing between , 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 species of rodent belonging to the families Erethizontidae or Hystricidae. All defend themselves with hair modified into sharp spines.

Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's Porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (); the African Porcupine can grow to well over .

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 in length and ), 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.

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.

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 long and 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. Quills are released by contact with them or they may drop out when the porcupine shakes them, they are not sprayed out.

Habitats

Porcupines a wide range of habitats in desert and hot temperate parts of Africa. they live in deserts,and grasslands. All porcupines stay on the ground. Porcupines can be found on rocky areas up to high.

Salt licks

Porcupines in search of salt sometimes encroach on human habitats, eating plywood cured with sodium nitrate, 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.

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. A group of porcupines is called a "prickle.
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.

Order Rodentia