Porcupine: Difference between revisions

| name = Porcupine

'''Porcupines''' are large [[rodent]]s with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against [[predation]]. The term covers two [[Family (biology)|families]] of animals: the [[Old World porcupine]]s of the family '''Hystricidae''', and the [[New World porcupine]]s of the family '''Erethizontidae'''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roze |first1=Uldis |title=Porcupines: The Animal Answer Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LtOhh7ILpT0C&dq=porcupine+Hystricidae+families&pg=PA1 |date=2012 |location=Baltimore, Maryland, USA |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |page=1 |isbn=978-1-4214-0735-7 }}</ref><ref name="NG"/> Both families belong to the infraorder [[Hystricognathi]] within the profoundly diverse [[order (biology)|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 [[rodent]] in the world, after the [[capybara]] and [[beaver]].

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.<ref>{{cite web|author=Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute|url=https://wwwnationalzoo.referencesi.comedu/scienceanimals/babynews/curious-porcupineabout-called-86e1b821d866e879quills|title=Reference.com''Curious About Quills''|first=|last=|website=|publisher=|accessdate=|archive-date=2017-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310013219/https://www.reference.com/science/baby-porcupine-called-86e1b821d866e879|url-status=dead03}}</ref>

The two subfamilies of [[New World porcupine]]s are mostly smaller (although the [[North American porcupine]] reaches about {{convert|85|cm|in|abbr=on|disp=or}} in length and {{convert|18|kg|lb|abbr=on|disp=or}}), 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 rodents than they are to the Old World porcupines.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.worldanimalfoundation.org/animal_encyclopedia/params/category/173341/item/994826/ |title=Porcupines cn|date=19 October 2021 |website=World Animal Foundation |access-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019182357/https://www.worldanimalfoundation.org/animal_encyclopedia/params/category/173341/item/994826/ |archive-date=19 October 2021April 2024}}</ref>

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, odour emission, and attack.<ref name="NAP">{{cite book|last1last=Roze|first1first=Uldis|title=The North American Porcupine Second Edition|date=2009|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Cornell University, United States of America|isbn=978-0-8014-4646-7|edition=Second }}</ref> A porcupine's colouring aids in part of its defence as most of the predators are [[nocturnal]] and colour-blind. A porcupine's markings are black and white. The dark body and coarse hair of the porcupine are 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.<ref name="NAP" /> The rattling of quills is aided by the hollow quills at the back end of the porcupine.<ref name="Antibiotic">{{cite journal |last1=Roze, Locke|first1=Uldis, |last2=Locke |first2=David C. |last3=Vatakis |first3=Nick |title=Antibiotic Properties of Porcupine Quills |journal=Journal of Chemical Ecology |date=March 1990 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=725–734 |doi=10.1007/bf01016483 |pmid=24263588 |bibcode=1990JCEco..16..725R |s2cid=2045335 }}</ref> The use of odour 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 a quill erection.<ref name="Warning Odor">{{cite journal|last1last=Guang|first1first=Li|title=Warning Odor of the North American Porcupine|journal=Journal of Chemical Ecology|date=1997|volume=23|issue=12|pages=2737–2754|doi=10.1023/a:1022511026529|bibcode=1997JSP....23.2737L|s2cid=36405223 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Quills Kill">{{cite journal|last1last=Mori|first1first=Emiliano|title=The defense strategy of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata|journal=ResearchGate|date=October 2013 }}</ref>

Porcupines' quills, or [[spine (zoology)|spines]], take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of [[keratin]],<ref name=Attenborough>{{cite AVepisode media| last=Attenborough |first=David |author-link=David Attenborough | titleseries=Attenborough's Natural Curiosities |series-no=2 |series-link=David volumeAttenborough's Natural Curiosities | number=2 |title=Armoured Animals | year=2014 | publishernetwork=[[UKTV]] }}</ref> and embedded in the [[skin]] musculature. Old World porcupines have quills embedded in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines, single quills are interspersed with bristles, underfur, and hair.

Porcupines are seldom eaten in [[Western culture]] but are eaten often in [[Southeast Asia]], particularly [[Vietnam]], where the prominent use of them as a food source has contributed to declines in porcupine populations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100825103830.htm |title=Wild Southeast Asian porcupines under threat due to illegal hunting, researchers find |publisher=Sciencedaily.com |date=2010-08-25 |access-date=2012-02-20 |archive-date=2019-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421160439/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100825103830.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2010.07.030|title=The conservation impact of commercial wildlife farming of porcupines in Vietnam|year=2010|last1=Brooks|first1=Emma G.E.|last2=Roberton|first2=Scott I.|last3=Bell|first3=Diana J.|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=143|issue=11|pages=2808 |bibcode=2010BCons.143.2808B }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Ettinger, Powell |url=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/porcupine-vietnam.html#cr |title=Wildlife Extra News – Illegal hunting threatens Vietnam's wild porcupines |publisher=Wildlifeextra.com |date=2010-08-30 |access-date=2012-02-20 |archive-date=2019-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082742/http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/porcupine-vietnam.html#cr |url-status=live }}</ref> <!-- As mentioned, in Kenya porcupines are eaten as a delicacy.<ref name="BBC"/> -->

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