Porcupine

North American Porcupine

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. 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 common porcupine is a herbivore. It eats leaves, twigs and green plants and in the winter it may eat bark. It often climbs trees to find food. It is mostly nocturnal, but will sometimes forage for food in the day. Porcupines have become a pest in Kenya and are eaten as a delicacy.[1]

The name porcupine comes from Middle French porc espin (spined pig).[2] A regional American name for the animal is quill pig.[3]

Contents

Species

Old World porcupine

A porcupine is any of 29 species of rodent belonging to the families Erethizontidae (genera: Coendou, Sphiggurus, Erethizon, Echinoprocta, 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 (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 had held the record for being the longest-living rodent,[4] which was recently broken by the Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber).[5]

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. New quills grow to replace lost ones. From ancient times, it was believed that porcupines could throw their quills at an enemy, but this has long been refuted.[6][7]

Habitat

Bronze cannon of Louis XII of France, with porcupine emblem. Caliber: 172mm, length: 305cm, weight: 1870kg. Recovered in Algiers in 1830. Musée de l'Armée.

Porcupines occupy a wide range of habitats in tropical and temperate parts of Asia, Southern Europe, 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 (12,100 ft) high. Porcupines are generally nocturnal but are occasionally active during daylight.

Salt licks

Porcupines in search of salt sometimes encroach on human habitats, eating plywood cured with sodium nitrate,[8] certain paints, 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.[9]

Classification

A North American porcupine

Order Rodentia

Notes

  1. ↑ "Porcupines raise thorny questions in Kenya". BBC News. August 19, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4157330.stm. Retrieved September 21, 2009. 
  2. ↑ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, s.v. "porcupine" (accessed July 20, 2010).
  3. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "quill" (accessed July 20, 2010).
  4. ↑ Parker, SB (1990) Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, vol. 4, McGraw-Hill, New York.
  5. ↑ Buffenstein, Rochelle; Jarvis, Jennifer U. M. (May 2002). "The naked mole rat--a new record for the oldest living rodent". Science of aging knowledge environment 2002 (21): pe7. doi:10.1126/sageke.2002.21.pe7. PMID 14602989. 
  6. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1823 Edition. Page 501. Google Book Search
  7. ↑ Goodwin, Thomas Shepard. Natural History, a Manual of Zoology. New York, 1865. Page 78. Google Book Search
  8. ↑ Morrisson, Philip; Morrisson, Phyllis (March 2001). "Wonders: The Needy Porcupine". Scientific American. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000B3425-FD09-1C70-84A9809EC588EF21. Retrieved 29 June 2007. 
  9. ↑ Olson, Rich; Andrea M. Lewis (May 1999) (PDF). Porcupine Ecology and Damage Management Techniques for Rural Homeowners. University of Wyoming, Cooperative Extension Service. p. 4. http://ces.uwyo.edu/PUBS/B1073.pdf. Retrieved 29 June 2007. 

External links