Porcupines are large

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against

predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

. The term covers two

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

of animals: the

Old World porcupine 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 ea ...

s of family Hystricidae, and the

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 ...

s of family, Erethizontidae. Both families belong to the infraorder

Hystricognathi The Hystricognathi are an infraorder of rodents, distinguished from other rodents by the bone structure of their skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, fa ...

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

in the world, after the capybara and beaver. The Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) live in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

(western and southern), and most of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. They are large, terrestrial, and strictly nocturnal. The New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) are indigenous to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. 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 long, with a long tail. Weighing , they are rounded, large, and slow, and use an

aposematic Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste o ...

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

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

s and Australian monotreme

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

s as well as tenrecid

tenrec A tenrec is any species of mammal within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are wildly diverse; as a result of convergent evolution some resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, rats, and mice. They occupy aquatic, a ...

Etymology

The word "porcupine" comes from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''porcus'' pig + ''spina'' spine, quill, via Old Italian (Italian "porcospino", thorn-pig)—

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...

—

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

. A regional American name for the animal is "quill-pig". 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.

Evolution

Fossils belonging to the genus ''Hystrix'' date back to the late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

of the continent of Africa.

Species

Taxonomy

A porcupine is any of 58 species of

s belonging to the families Erethizontidae (genera: '' Coendou'', ''

Erethizon ''Erethizon'' is a genus of New World porcupine and the only one of its family to be found north of southern Mexico. The North American porcupine ''(Erethizon dorsatum)'' is the only extant species, but several extinct relatives are known, the old ...

'', and '' Chaetomys'') or Hystricidae (genera: '' Atherurus'', '' Hystrix'', and ''

Trichys The long-tailed porcupine (''Trichys fasciculata'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Trichys'', and is found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Physical appearance Long-tailed porcupines’ ...

''). Porcupines vary in size considerably:

Rothschild's porcupine The Andean porcupine (''Coendou quichua'') 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 ...

of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2.2 lb); the

crested porcupine The crested porcupine (''Hystrix cristata''), 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. Characteristics The adult crested porcupine h ...

found in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, and

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

can grow to well over . The two families of porcupines are quite different, and although both belong to the

branch of the vast order

Rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

ia, they are not closely related.

Old World compared with New World species

The 11

s tend to be fairly large and have spines grouped in clusters. The two subfamilies of

s are mostly smaller (although 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 ('' ...

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 Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

) and are more closely related to several other families of rodents than they are to the Old World porcupines.

Longevity

Porcupines have a relatively high

longevity The word " longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, the term ''longevity'' is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is always d ...

and hold the record for being the longest-living rodent, with one individual named Cooper living over 32 years.

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 Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

. In the winter, it may eat bark. The African porcupine is not a climber; instead, it forages on the ground. It is mostly

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

but will sometimes forage for food in the day, eating bark, roots, fruits, berries, and farm crops. Porcupines have become a pest in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and are eaten as a delicacy.

Defense

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, odor emission, and attack. A porcupine's colouring aids in part of its defence as most of the predators are

and colour blind. A porcupine's markings are black and white. The dark body and coarse hair of the porcupine are a 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. The rattling of quills is aided by the hollow quills at the back end of the porcupine. The use of odor 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 quill erection. 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.

Quills

Porcupines' quills, or spines, take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of

keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up scales, hair, nails, feathers, ho ...

, and embedded in the

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...

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. Despite what is commonly believed, porcupines do not have the ability to launch their quills at range. There are some possible

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

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

Uses by humans

Porcupines are seldom eaten in

Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

but are eaten often in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, particularly

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, where the prominent use of them as a food source has contributed to declines in porcupine populations. 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. With regards to a Maine state law that restricted the killing of porcupines to keep them available as emergency game for people lost in the woods, he noted: "It is undoubtedly a good law; but I cannot now imagine any one being grateful for it, unless the stern alternative were death or porcupine." 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, then applied in combination with thread to embellish leather accessories, such as knife sheaths and leather bags.

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

women would harvest the quills for

quillwork Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Indigenous peoples of North America that employs the quills of porcupines as an aesthetic element. Quills from bird feathers were also occasionally used in quillwork. Histor ...

by throwing a blanket over a porcupine and retrieving the quills left stuck in the blanket. The presence of barbs, acting like anchors, causes increased pain when removing a quill that has pierced the skin. The shape of the barbs makes the quills effective for penetrating the skin and for remaining in place. The quills have inspired research for such applications as the design of hypodermic needles and surgical staples. 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. The porcupine is often used as a symbol of

American libertarianism In the United States, libertarianism is a political philosophy promoting individual liberty. According to common meanings of conservatism and liberalism in the United States, libertarianism has been described as ''conservative'' on economic iss ...

due to its natural embodiment of defensiveness and the

non-aggression principle The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...

Habitat

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 high. They are generally nocturnal but are occasionally active during daylight. Marco Polo BNF manuscrit 2810 Porc-épicHystricidae

Marco Polo BNF manuscrit 2810 Porc-épicHystricidae

Classification

Porcupines are distributed into two evolutionarily independent groups within the suborder

Hystricomorpha The term Hystricomorpha (from Greek ὕστριξ, ''hystrix'' 'porcupine' and Greek μορφή, ''morphē'' 'form') has had many definitions throughout its history. In the broadest sense, it refers to any rodent (except dipodoids) with a hystr ...

of the Rodentia. * Infraorder

** Family Hystricidae: Old World porcupines ***

African brush-tailed porcupine The African brush-tailed porcupine (''Atherurus africanus'') is a species of rat-like Old World porcupine, indigenous to a broad belt of Africa ranging from Guinea on the west coast to Kenya on the east. This is a common species with a very wi ...

, ''Atherurus africanus'' ***

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine The Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine (''Atherurus macrourus'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. It is found in China, Bhutan, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Taxonomy The synonyms of this species are ''At ...

, ''Atherurus macrourus'' ***

Crested porcupine The crested porcupine (''Hystrix cristata''), 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. Characteristics The adult crested porcupine h ...

, ''Hystrix cristata'' ***

Cape porcupine The Cape porcupine (''Hystrix africaeaustralis''), Cape crested porcupine or South African porcupine, is a species of Old World porcupine native to central and southern Africa. Description left, 180px, head Cape porcupines are the second large ...

, ''Hystrix africaeaustralis'' ***

Indian porcupine The Indian crested porcupine (''Hystrix indica'') 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. De ...

, ''Hystrix indicus'' ***

Malayan porcupine The Malayan porcupine or Himalayan porcupine (''Hystrix brachyura'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. Three subspecies are extant in South and Southeast Asia. Geographical distribution The Malayan porcupine ranges from Nepal th ...

, ''Hystrix brachyura'' ****

Himalayan porcupine The Malayan porcupine or Himalayan porcupine (''Hystrix brachyura'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. Three subspecies are extant in South and Southeast Asia. Geographical distribution The Malayan porcupine ranges from Nepal th ...

, ''Hystrix (brachyura) hodgsoni'' ***

Sunda porcupine The Sunda porcupine (''Hystrix javanica'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. It is endemic to Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and ...

, ''Hystrix javanica'' *** Sumatran porcupine, ''Hystrix (Thecurus) sumatrae'' ***

Thick-spined porcupine The thick-spined porcupine (''Hystrix crassispinis'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. It is endemic to the island of Borneo and found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. History In 1996, the species was considered Near Threat ...

, ''Hystrix (Thecurus) crassispinis'' ***

Philippine porcupine The Philippine porcupine or Palawan porcupine (''Hystrix pumila'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae (Old World porcupines) endemic to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. It is known locally as ''durian'' or ''landak''. Appa ...

, ''Hystrix (Thecurus) pumilis'' ***

Long-tailed porcupine The long-tailed porcupine (''Trichys fasciculata'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Trichys'', and is found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Physical appearance Long-tailed porcupines’ ...

, ''Trichys fasciculata'' ** Parvorder Phiomorpha ''sensu stricto'' *** Family

Thryonomyidae Thryonomyidae is a family of hystricognath rodents that contains the cane rats ''(Thryomys)'' found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and a number of fossil genera. Taxonomy Thryonomyidae was formerly more diverse and widespread, with fossil relati ...

: cane rats *** Family

Petromuridae Petromuridae is a family of hystricognath rodents that contains the dassie rat ''(Petromus typicus)'' of southwestern Africa, the only extant member of this group. The genus ''Petromus ''Petromus'' is a genus of hystricognath rodents that co ...

: Dassie rats *** Family Bathyergidae: African mole-rats ** Parvorder

Caviomorpha Caviomorpha is the rodent infraorder or 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 ...

*** Superfamily Erethizontoidea **** Family Erethizontidae: New World porcupines *****

Brazilian porcupine The Brazilian porcupine (''Coendou prehensilis'') is a porcupine found in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Paraguay, Suriname, Bolivia and Trinidad, with a single record from Ecuador. It inhabits tropical ...

, ''Coendou prehensilis'' *****

Bicolored-spined porcupine The bicolored-spined porcupine (''Coendou bicolor'') is a species of nocturnal and arboreal rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The head and body of ''Coendou bicolor'' measure about 543& ...

, ''Coendou bicolor'' *****

Andean porcupine The Andean porcupine (''Coendou quichua'') 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 ...

, ''Coendou quichua'' ***** Black dwarf (Koopman's) porcupine, ''Coendou nycthemera (koopmani)'' *****

, ''Coendou rothschildi'' *****

Santa Marta porcupine The Santa Marta porcupine (''Coendou sanctamartae'') is a rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is known from dry forests on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mo ...

, ''Coendou sanctemartae'' *****

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

, ''Coendou mexicanus'' *****

Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine The Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine (''Coendou spinosus'') is a porcupine species from the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. They have a short tail and gray brown quills and feed on fruits, ant pu ...

, ''Coendou spinosus'' *****

Bahia porcupine The Bahia porcupine (''Coendou insidiosus''), is a New World porcupine species in the family Erethizontidae endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. It was formerly sometimes assigned to ''Sphiggurus'', a genus no longer recognized ...

, ''Coendou insidiosus'' *****

Brown hairy dwarf porcupine The brown hairy dwarf porcupine (''Coendou vestitus'') 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 ...

, ''Coendou vestitus'' *****

Streaked dwarf porcupine The streaked dwarf porcupine (''Coendou ichillus'') is a porcupine species in the family Erethizontidae. It is known from the lowlands (below an altitude of 400 m) of eastern Ecuador, and may be present in Peru as well. It appears to be nocturna ...

, ''Coendou ichillus'' *****

Black-tailed hairy dwarf porcupine The black-tailed hairy dwarf porcupine (''Coendou melanurus'') is a porcupine species from the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. This species was formerly sometimes a ...

, ''Coendou melanurus'' *****

Roosmalen's dwarf porcupine Roosmalen's dwarf porcupine (''Coendou roosmalenorum'') is a porcupine species from the New World porcupine family likely endemic to northern Brazil. Only three specimens were known at the time, and only one had a collection locality. It is name ...

, ''Coendou roosmalenorum'' *****

Frosted hairy dwarf porcupine The frosted hairy dwarf porcupine (''Coendou pruinosus'') 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 si ...

, ''Coendou pruinosus'' *****

Stump-tailed porcupine The stump-tailed porcupine (''Coendou rufescens'') is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found mainly in Colombia, with a few records from Ecuador. This species was formerly sometimes assigned to ''Echinoprocta'', a genus n ...

, ''Coendou rufescens'' *****

, ''Erethizon dorsatum'' ***** Bristle-spined porcupine, ''Chaetomys subspinosus'' (sometimes considered an

echimyid 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 terres ...

) *** Superfamily Cavioidea **** Family Hydrochaeridae: capybara **** Family

Caviidae Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to tho ...

: Guinea-pigs **** Family

Dasyproctidae Dasyproctidae is a family of large South American rodents, comprising the agoutis and acouchis. Their fur is a reddish or dark colour above, with a paler underside. They are herbivorous, often feeding on ripe fruit that falls from trees. They liv ...

: agoutis and acouchis *** Superfamily Octodontoidea **** Family Abrocomidae: chinchilla-rats **** Family

Octodontidae Octodontidae is a family of rodents, restricted to southwestern South America. Fourteen species of octodontid are recognised, arranged in seven genera. The best known species is the common degu, ''Octodon degus''. Octodontids are medium-sized ...

: degus **** Family

Ctenomyidae A tuco-tuco is a neotropical rodent in the family Ctenomyidae.Parada, A., G. D’Elia, C.J. Bidau, and E.P. Lessa. 2011. Species Groups and the Evolutionary Diversification of Tuco-Tucos, genus ''Ctenomys'' (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae). ''Journal of M ...

tuco-tuco A tuco-tuco is a neotropical rodent in the family Ctenomyidae.Parada, A., G. D’Elia, C.J. Bidau, and E.P. Lessa. 2011. Species Groups and the Evolutionary Diversification of Tuco-Tucos, genus ''Ctenomys'' (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae). ''Journal of M ...

s **** Family

Echimyidae 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 terr ...

: spiny rats **** Family

Myocastoridae Myocastorini is a tribe of echimyid rodents, proposed in 2017, and containing the five extant genera '' Callistomys'', '' Hoplomys'', '' Myocastor'', ''Proechimys ''Proechimys'' is a genus of South American spiny rats of the family Echimyida ...

: nutrias **** Family Capromyidae: hutias *** Superfamily Chinchilloidea **** Family

Chinchillidae The family Chinchillidae is in the order Rodentia and consists of the chinchillas, the viscachas, and their fossil relatives. This family is restricted to southern and western South America, mostly living in mountainous regions of the Andes but ...

: chinchillas and allies **** Family

Dinomyidae The Dinomyidae are a family of South American hystricognath rodents: the dinomyids were once a very speciose group, but now contains only a single living species, the pacarana. Several of the extinct dinomyids were among the largest rodents know ...

: pacaranas

References

External links

Wildlife Conservation: Porcupine
African Wildlife Foundation
"Resource Cards: What About Porcupines?"
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
''Porcupine control in the western states''
University of North Texas Digital Library
The Complete Resource To Keeping Porcupines As Pets
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porcupine Body plans Hystricognath rodents Rodents by common name