The long-tailed porcupine (''Trichys fasciculata'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family Hystricidae. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

within the genus ''Trichys'', and is found in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Physical appearance

Long-tailed porcupines’ appearances are somewhat rat-like. Their weight is usually around 1.7-2.3 kg but can be as small as 1.5 kg and their length can be between 27.9-48 cm excluding their tail which is usually up to 24 cm. To save themselves from predators including larger

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

, snakes and birds, their tails can be lost when grabbed but will not be regenerated. Long-tailed porcupine's broad paws allow them to be good climbers, hence they are able to climb trees and shrubs to search for food. Their front legs consist of four toes while the back legs consist of five toes. Long-tailed porcupines are commonly black or brown in colour while their underbody is usually white. The short dark brown flattened spines with white base cover their entire body with bristles-like hair in between, except their head and underbody, which are covered entirely with hair. Their spines are shorter than 5 cm, making them the shortest in the Hystricidae family. Long-tailed porcupines' tails are brown in colour and are mostly covered with scales. The tips of the tail, their rear and the hindquarters are covered in brush-like hollow quills which do not produce sound when shaken, unlike other porcupine species.

Diet

Long-tailed porcupines are primarily herbivores (

folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

i.e. diet consist mainly consist of plant material including

foliage A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, s ...

an
lignivore
i.e. diet mainly consist of wood), with the main diets being leaves, wood, roots, bark and cambium layer of trees, fruits, seeds and bamboo shoots. They also occasionally consume

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

insects and terrestrial non-insect

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

. Long-tailed porcupine helps in seed dispersal as they are food hoarders who collect fruits and seeds. Additionally, they feed on the

cambium A cambium (plural cambia or cambiums), in plants, is a tissue layer that provides partially undifferentiated cells for plant growth. It is found in the area between xylem and phloem. A cambium can also be defined as a cellular plant tissue from w ...

layer, causing the death of the trees which contributes both negatively and positively, positive being that the dead trees create habitats for some bird species. To humans, they also destroy crops for example pineapple and therefore, is sometimes considered a nuisance.

References

Mammals described in 1801 Hystricidae Mammals of Borneo Mammals of Brunei Rodents of Indonesia Rodents of Malaysia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{rodent-stub