Porcupine.html
 
| ca | de | en | es | fr | it | nl | no | pl | pt | ru | ro | fi | sv | tr | vo |


 

 This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (November 2007)
This article is about the rodent mammal. For other uses, see Porcupine (disambiguation).
Porcupines
North American Porcupine
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. After the capybara and the beaver, Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents. Most porcupines are about 25–36 in (630–910 mm) long, with an 8–10 in (200–250 mm) 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. The name "porcupine" comes from Middle French porc d'épine "thorny pig". Porcupines' spiny protection resembles that of the unrelated Erinaceomorph hedgehogs and Monotreme Echidnas.

Contents

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 (2.2 lb (1.00 kg)); the African Porcupine can grow to well over 20 kg (44 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.

Old World porcupine

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.


[Italic text

Media:Headline textFailed to parse (lexing error): <nowiki>Insert formula here</nowiki>--~~~~ ---- #REDIRECT [[<s>Insert text</s><br /><sup><sub>Superscript text</sub><small><!-- Small Text --> <gallery> <blockquote> Image:Example.jpg|Caption1 Image:Example.jpg|Caption2 </blockquote>{| class="wikitable" border="1" |<ref>- ! header 1 ! header 2 ! header 3 |- | row 1, cell 1 | row 1, cell 2 | row 1, cell 3 |- | row 2, cell 1 | row 2, cell 2 | row 2, cell 3</ref> |} </gallery></small></sup>]]

== 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 3,500 m (11,000 ft) high.

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,1 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.2]Small TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSmall TextSubscript textSubscript textSubscript textSuperscript textSuperscript textSuperscript textSuperscript textSuperscript text

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"3.
  • 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.45

Order Rodentia

References

  1. ^ Morrisson, Philip; Morrisson, Phyllis. "Wonders: The Needy Porcupine", Scientific American. Retrieved on 29 June 2007. 
  2. ^ Olson, Rich; Andrea M. Lewis (May 1999). Porcupine Ecology and Damage Management Techniques for Rural Homeowners, University of Wyoming, Cooperative Extension Service. pp. 4, http://ces.uwyo.edu/PUBS/B1073.pdf. Retrieved on 29 June 2007. 
  3. ^ Animal Collectives http://www.hintsandthings.com/kennel/collectives.htm
  4. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1823 Edition. Page 501. Google Book Search
  5. ^ Goodwin, Thomas Shepard. Natural History, a Manual of Zoology. New York, 1865. Page 78. Google Book Search

External links

Look up porcupine in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hystricidae
Tarczownice • Strona • Strona • Strona • Aldona • Aniela • Anita • Celina • Diana • Eliza • Brygida • Elena • Berta • Dorota • Elena All Right Reserved © 2007, Designed by Stylish Blog.