Porcupine

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Porcupine
Porcupine (5670622729).jpg
North American porcupine
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Hystricomorpha
Infraorder: Hystricognathi
Groups included
Cladistically included but traditionally excluded taxa

Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of the family Erethizontidae. [1] [2] Both families belong to the infraorder Hystricognathi within the profoundly diverse order Rodentia and display superficially similar coats of rigid or semi-rigid quills, which are modified hairs composed of keratin. Despite this, the two groups are distinct from one another and are not closely related to each other within the Hystricognathi. The largest species of porcupine is the third-largest living rodent in the world, after the capybara and beaver.

Contents

The Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) live in Italy, Asia (western [3] and southern), and most of Africa. They are large, terrestrial, and strictly nocturnal.

The New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) are indigenous to North America and northern South America. They live in wooded areas and can climb trees, where some species spend their entire lives. They are less strictly nocturnal than their Old World counterparts and generally smaller.

Most porcupines are about 60–90 cm (25–36 in) long, with a 20–25 cm (8–10 in) long tail. Weighing 5–16 kg (12–35 lb), they are rounded, large, and slow, and use an aposematic strategy of defence. Porcupines' colouration consists of various shades of brown, grey and white. Porcupines' spiny protection resembles that of the only distantly related erinaceomorph hedgehogs and Australian monotreme echidnas as well as tenrecid tenrecs.

Etymology

The word porcupine comes from the Latin porcus'pig' + spina'spine, quill', from Old Italian porcospino, 'thorn-pig'. [4] [5] A regional American name for the animal is quill-pig. [6]

A baby porcupine is a porcupette. When born, a porcupette's quills are soft hair; they harden within a few days, forming the sharp quills of adults. [7]

Evolution

Fossils belonging to the genus Hystrix date back to the late Miocene of the continent of Africa. [8]

Species

Old World porcupine Ialtinskii zoopark 079.jpg
Old World porcupine

Taxonomy

A porcupine is any of 30 species of rodents belonging to the families Erethizontidae (genera: Coendou , Erethizon , and Chaetomys ) or Hystricidae (genera: Atherurus , Hystrix , and Trichys ). Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2.2 lb); the crested porcupine found in Italy, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa can grow to well over 27 kg (60 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.

Old World compared with New World species

The 11 Old World porcupines tend to be fairly large and have spines grouped in clusters.

The two subfamilies of New World porcupines are mostly smaller (although the North American porcupine reaches about 85 cm or 33 in in length and 18 kg or 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 rodents than they are to the Old World porcupines.[ citation needed ]

Longevity

Porcupines have a relatively high longevity and hold the record for being the longest-living rodent, with one individual named Cooper living over 32 years. [9]

Diet

The North American porcupine is a herbivore and often climbs trees for food; it eats leaves, herbs, twigs, and green plants such as clover. In the winter, it may eat bark. [2] The African porcupine is not a climber; instead, it forages on the ground. [2] It is mostly nocturnal [10] but will sometimes forage for food during the day, eating bark, roots, fruits, berries, and farm crops. Porcupines have become a pest in Kenya and are eaten as a delicacy. [11]

Defence

Defensive behaviour displays in a porcupine depend on sight, scent, and sound. Often, these displays are shown when a porcupine becomes agitated or annoyed. There are four main displays seen in a porcupine: (in order from least to most aggressive) quill erection, teeth clattering, odour emission, and attack. [12] A porcupine's colouring aids in part of its defence as most of the predators are nocturnal and colour-blind. A porcupine's markings are black and white. The dark body and coarse hair of the porcupine are dark brown/black and when quills are raised, present a white strip down its back mimicking the look of a skunk. This, along with the raising of the sharp quills, deters predators. Along with the raising of the quills, porcupines clatter their teeth to warn predators not to approach. The incisors vibrate against each other, the strike zone shifts back, and the cheek teeth clatter. This behaviour is often paired with body shivering, which is used to further display the dangerous quills. [12] The rattling of quills is aided by the hollow quills at the back end of the porcupine. [13] The use of odour is when the sight and sound have failed. An unpleasant scent is produced from the skin above the tail in times of stress and is often seen with a quill erection. [14] If these processes fail, the porcupine will attack by running sideways or backwards into predators. A porcupine's tail can also be swung in the direction of the predator; if contact is made, the quills could be impaled into the predator causing injury or death. [15]

Quills

Quills grow in varying lengths and colours, depending on the animal's age and species. Stekelvarken Aiguilles Porc-epic.jpg
Quills grow in varying lengths and colours, depending on the animal's age and species.

Porcupines' quills, or spines, take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of keratin, [16] and embedded in the skin musculature. Old World porcupines have quills embedded in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines, single quills are interspersed with bristles, underfur, and hair.

Quills are released by contact or may drop out when the porcupine shakes its body. New quills grow to replace lost ones. [16] [2] Despite what is commonly believed, porcupines cannot launch their quills at range. [17] [18]

There are some possible antibiotic properties within the quills, specifically associated with the free fatty acids coating the quills. [13] The antibiotic properties are believed to aid a porcupine that has suffered from self-injury.

Uses by humans

Porcupine guard hair headdress made by native peoples from Sonora displayed at the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City MAPElNorte041.JPG
Porcupine guard hair headdress made by native peoples from Sonora displayed at the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City

Porcupines are seldom eaten in Western culture but are eaten often in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, where the prominent use of them as a food source has contributed to declines in porcupine populations. [19] [20] [21]

Naturalist William J. Long reported the taste of the North American porcupine as "vile" and "malodorous" and delightful only to a lover of strong cheese. [22]

More commonly, their quills and guard hairs are used for traditional decorative clothing; for example, their guard hairs are used in the creation of the Native American "porky roach" headdress. The main quills may be dyed and then applied in combination with thread to embellish leather accessories, such as knife sheaths and leather bags. Lakota women would harvest the quills for quillwork by throwing a blanket over a porcupine and retrieving the quills left stuck in the blanket. [23]

The presence of barbs, acting like anchors, causes increased pain when removing a quill that has pierced the skin. [16] The shape of the barbs makes the quills effective for penetrating the skin and for remaining in place. [24] The quills have inspired research for such applications as the design of hypodermic needles and surgical staples. [24] [25] In contrast to the current design for surgical staples, the porcupine quill and barb design would allow easy and painless insertion, as the staple would stay in the skin using the anchored barb design rather than being bent under the skin like traditional staples. [25]

Porcupines are also sometimes kept as exotic pets.

Habitat

A pair of North American porcupines in their habitat in Quebec Tree Climbing Porcupines.jpg
A pair of North American porcupines in their habitat in Quebec

Porcupines occupy a small range of habitats in tropical and temperate parts of Asia, Southern Europe, Africa, and North and South America. They live in forests and deserts, rocky outcrops, and hillsides. Some New World porcupines live in trees, but Old World porcupines prefer a rocky environment. Porcupines can be found on rocky areas up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft) high. They are generally nocturnal but are occasionally active during daylight.

Hunting porcupine near the town of Cassem, in a miniature from The Book of Wonders by Italian explorer Marco Polo (first book, manuscript 2810) Marco Polo BNF manuscrit 2810 Porc-epicHystricidae.jpg
Hunting porcupine near the town of Cassem, in a miniature from The Book of Wonders by Italian explorer Marco Polo (first book, manuscript 2810)

Classification

North American porcupine eating grass and clover MainePorcupine.JPG
North American porcupine eating grass and clover

Porcupines are distributed into two evolutionarily independent groups within the suborder Hystricomorpha of the Rodentia. [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New World porcupine</span> Family of rodents

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. Although both the New World and Old World porcupine families belong to the Hystricognathi branch of the vast order Rodentia, they are quite different and are not closely related.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World porcupine</span> Family of rodents

The Old World porcupines, or Hystricidae, are large terrestrial rodents, distinguished by the spiny covering from which they take their name. They range over the south of Europe and the Levant, most of Africa, India, and Southeast Asia as far east as Flores. Although both the Old World and New World porcupine families belong to the infraorder Hystricognathi of the vast order Rodentia, they are quite different and are not particularly closely related.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caviomorpha</span> Sub-set of rodents in South America

Caviomorpha is the rodent parvorder that unites all New World hystricognaths. It is supported by both fossil and molecular evidence. The Caviomorpha was for a time considered to be a separate order outside the Rodentia, but is now accepted as a genuine part of the rodents. Caviomorphs include the extinct Heptaxodontidae, the extinct Josephoartigasia monesi and extant families of chinchilla rats, hutias, guinea pigs and the capybara, chinchillas and viscachas, tuco-tucos, agoutis, pacas, pacaranas, spiny rats, New World porcupines, coypu and octodonts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The Cape porcupine, Cape crested porcupine or South African porcupine, is a species of Old World porcupine native to central and southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian crested porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The Indian crested porcupine is a hystricomorph rodent species native to southern Asia and the Middle East. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It belongs to the Old World porcupine family, Hystricidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prehensile-tailed porcupine</span> Genus of rodents

The prehensile-tailed porcupines or coendous are found in Central and South America. Two other formerly recognized Neotropical tree porcupine genera, Echinoprocta and Sphiggurus, have been subsumed into Coendou, since Sphiggurus was shown by genetic studies to be polyphyletic, while Echinoprocta nested within Coendou.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The crested porcupine, also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae native to Italy, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine is a porcupine species from the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-tailed hairy dwarf porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The black-tailed hairy dwarf porcupine is a porcupine species from the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicolored-spined porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The bicolored-spined porcupine is a species of nocturnal and arboreal rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stump-tailed porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The stump-tailed porcupine is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found mainly in Colombia, with a few records from Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malayan porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The Malayan porcupine or Himalayan porcupine is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. Three subspecies are extant in South and Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine or Mexican tree porcupine is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Mexico, Nicaragua and Belize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown hairy dwarf porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The brown hairy dwarf porcupine is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. Found in the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is not easy to study as it is known only from a few specimens and was not recorded from 1925 until the 2000s. The porcupine is nocturnal and arboreal, feeding on leaves, shoots, and fruits. Habitat loss severely threatens it, and it may even be extinct. Formerly listed as vulnerable, it is now designated data deficient. It is not known from any protected areas or conservation measures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The long-tailed porcupine is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. It is monotypic within the genus Trichys, and is found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streaked dwarf porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The streaked dwarf porcupine is a porcupine species in the family Erethizontidae. It is known from the lowlands of eastern Ecuador, and may be present in Peru as well. It appears to be nocturnal and arboreal in its habits.

The frosted hairy dwarf porcupine is a porcupine species in the family Erethizontidae from Colombia and northern and eastern Venezuela. It was formerly sometimes assigned to Sphiggurus, a genus no longer recognized since genetic studies showed it to be polyphyletic. The species lives in lowland tropical rainforest and cloud forest at elevations from 50 to 2,600 meters. Its karyotype has 2n = 42 and FN = 76. Its closest relative is the brown hairy dwarf porcupine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andean porcupine</span> Species of rodent

The Andean porcupine or Quichua porcupine is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found in the Andes of northern Ecuador and Colombia as well as in Panama. This porcupine is little known, but is probably arboreal, nocturnal and solitary like its relatives. The species is thought to be uncommon to rare and the population decreasing. It is threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation and agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echimyidae</span> Family of rodents

Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to terrestrial to fossorial to semiaquatic habits. They presently exist mainly in South America; three members of the family also range into Central America, and the hutias are found in the West Indies in the Caribbean. Species of the extinct subfamily Heteropsomyinae formerly lived on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico in the Antilles.

Coendou speratus, known locally as coandumirim and commonly as the dwarf porcupine, is small porcupine of the Coendou genus found in northeastern Brazil. This small porcupine has a long tail and a spiny appearance as its dorsal fur is not long. Its dorsal colouring is blackish which contrasts with the brownish tips of its quills. It is distinguished from Coendou nycthemera by its tricolored quills whereas nycthemera is bicoloured.

References

  1. ↑ Roze, Uldis (2012). Porcupines: The Animal Answer Guide. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1. ISBN   978-1-4214-0735-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Porcupine". Animals. National Geographic. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 27 January 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Porcupine Archived 2015-02-25 at the Wayback Machine . biblehub.com
  4. ↑ "porcupine". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
  5. ↑ Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1855). "On False Etymologies". Transactions of the Philological Society (6): 68. Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  6. ↑ "quill pig" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1194071940.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  7. ↑ Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute (2017-03-03). "Curious About Quills".
  8. ↑ Barthelmess, E.L. (2006). "Hystrix africaeaustralis". Mammalian Species (788): 1–7. doi: 10.1644/788.1 .
  9. ↑ "Cooper the porcupine, believed to be world's oldest rodent, celebrates 32nd birthday at the Museum of Science - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
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  11. ↑ "Porcupines raise thorny questions in Kenya". BBC News. August 19, 2005. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
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  13. 1 2 Roze, Uldis; Locke, David C.; Vatakis, Nick (March 1990). "Antibiotic Properties of Porcupine Quills". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 16 (3): 725–734. Bibcode:1990JCEco..16..725R. doi:10.1007/bf01016483. PMID   24263588. S2CID   2045335.
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