''Erethizon'' is a genus of

New World porcupine 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. A ...

and the only one of its family to be found north of southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The

North American porcupine The North American porcupine (''Erethizon dorsatum''), also known as the Canadian porcupine, is a large quill-covered rodent in the New World porcupine family. It is the second largest rodent in North America, after the North American beaver ('' ...

''(Erethizon dorsatum)'' is the only extant species, but several extinct relatives are known, the oldest dated to the

Late Pliocene Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

. Porcupines entered North America during the Great American Interchange after the Isthmus of Panama rose 3 million years ago.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q732499 Rodent genera Mammal genera with one living species Taxa named by Frédéric Cuvier Erethizontidae