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New World porcupine

April 07, 2024

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. Although both the New World and Old World porcupine families belong to the Hystricognathi branch of the vast order Rodentia, they are quite different and are not closely related.

New World porcupines
Temporal range: Oligocene-Recent
~28.4–0 Ma
North American porcupine, (Erethizon dorsatum)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Infraorder: Hystricognathi
Parvorder: Caviomorpha
Superfamily: Erethizontoidea
Family: Erethizontidae
Bonaparte 1845
Type genus
Erethizon
F. Cuvier, 1823
Genera
  • Chaetomys
  • Coendou
  • Erethizon
  • †Branisamyopsis Candela 2003
  • †Cholamys Pérez et al. 2018
  • †Eopululo Frailey & Campbell Jr 2004
  • †Hypsosteiromys Patterson 1958
  • †Microsteiromys Walton 1990
  • †Neosteiromys Rovereto 1914
  • †Palaeosteiromys Boivin et al. 2017
  • †Paradoxomys Ameghino 1885
  • †Parasteiromys Ameghino 1904
  • †Protosteiromys Wood & Patterson 1959

Characteristics edit

New World porcupines are stout animals, with blunt, rounded heads, fleshy, mobile snouts, and coats of thick, cylindrical or flattened spines. The "quills" are mixed with long, soft hairs. They vary in size from the relatively small prehensile-tailed porcupines, which are around 30 cm (12 in) long, and weigh about 900 g (32 oz), to the much larger North American porcupine, which has a body length of 86 cm (34 in), and weighs up to 18 kg (40 lb).[1]

They are distinguished from the Old World porcupines in that they have rooted molars, complete collar bones, entire upper lips, tuberculated soles, no trace of first front toes, and four teats.

They are less strictly nocturnal than Old World species in their habits, and some types live entirely in trees, while others have dens on the ground. Their long and powerful prehensile tails help them balance when they are in the tree tops. Their diets consist mainly of bark, leaves, and conifer needles, but can also include roots, stems, berries, fruits, seeds, nuts, grasses, and flowers. Some species also eat insects and small reptiles.[2] Their teeth are similar to those of Old World porcupines, with the dental formula 1.0.1.31.0.1.3

Solitary offspring (or, rarely, twins) are born after a gestation period of up to 210 days, depending on the species. The young are born fully developed, with open eyes, and are able to climb trees within a few days of birth.[1]

Genera and species edit

They include three genera, of which the first is represented by the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), a stout, heavily built animal, with long hairs almost or quite hiding its spines, four front and five hind toes, and a short, stumpy tail. It is a native of the greater part of Canada and the United States, where any remnant of the original forest is left.

The tree porcupines (Coendou) contain 17 species. They are found throughout tropical South America, with two extending into Mexico. They are of a lighter build than the ground porcupines, with short, close, many-coloured spines, often mixed with hairs, and prehensile tails. The hind feet have only four toes, owing to the suppression of the first, in place of which they have a fleshy pad on the inner side of the foot; between this pad and the toes, branches and other objects can be firmly grasped as with a hand. These three genera are often united into a single genus Coendou.

Genus Chaetomys, distinguished by the shape of its skull and the greater complexity of its teeth, contains the bristle-spined rat (C. subspinosus), a native of the hottest parts of Brazil. This animal is often considered a member of Echimyidae on the basis of its premolars. However, a molecular phylogeny based on the mitochondrial gene coding for cytochrome b combined to karyological evidence actually suggests the bristle-spined rat is more closely related to the Erethizontidae than to the Echimyidae, and is the sister group of all other Erethizontidae.[3]

Classification edit

 
Up close view of head and front claws, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Extant genera and species
Fossil genera
  • †Branisamyopsis Candela 2003
  • †Cholamys Pérez et al. 2018
  • †Eopululo Frailey & Campbell Jr 2004
  • †Hypsosteiromys Patterson 1958
  • †Microsteiromys Walton 1990
  • †Neosteiromys Rovereto 1914
  • †Palaeosteiromys Boivin et al. 2017
  • †Paradoxomys Ameghino 1885
  • †Parasteiromys Ameghino 1904
  • †Protosteiromys Wood & Patterson 1959

References edit

  1. ^ a b Woods, Charles (1984). Macdonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 686–689. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
  2. ^ Macdonald (Ed), Professor David W. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-920608-2.
  3. ^ Vilela, R.V.; Machado, T.; Ventura, K.; Fagundes, V.; Silva, M.J.; Yonenaga-Yassuda, Y. (2009). "The taxonomic status of the endangered thin-spined porcupine, Chaetomys subspinosus (Olfers, 1818), based on molecular and karyologic data". BMC Evol. Biol. 9: 29. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-9-29. PMC 2646700. PMID 19192302.
  4. ^ Feijó, Anderson; Langguth, Alfredo (2013). "A new species of porcupine from the Baturité range". Revista Nordestina de Biologia. 22 (1/2): 124–126.
  5. ^ Pontes, A.R.M.; Gadelha, J.R.; Melo, É.R.A.; SÁ, F.B.; Loss, A.C.; Caldara Jr, V.; Costa, L.P.; Leite, Y.L.R. (5 Apr 2013). "A new species of porcupine, genus Coendou (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) from the Atlantic forest of northeastern Brazil" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3636 (3): 421–438. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3636.3.2.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erethizontidae.
 
Wikispecies has information related to Erethizontidae.
  • Erethizontidae, Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition.

April 07, 2024
world, porcupine, family, erethizontidae, large, arboreal, rodents, distinguished, their, spiny, coverings, from, which, they, take, their, name, they, inhabit, forests, wooded, regions, across, north, america, into, northern, south, america, although, both, w. 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 Although both the New World and Old World porcupine families belong to the Hystricognathi branch of the vast order Rodentia they are quite different and are not closely related New World porcupinesTemporal range Oligocene Recent 28 4 0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NNorth American porcupine Erethizon dorsatum Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass MammaliaOrder RodentiaInfraorder HystricognathiParvorder CaviomorphaSuperfamily ErethizontoideaFamily ErethizontidaeBonaparte 1845Type genusErethizonF Cuvier 1823GeneraChaetomys Coendou Erethizon Branisamyopsis Candela 2003 Cholamys Perez et al 2018 Eopululo Frailey amp Campbell Jr 2004 Hypsosteiromys Patterson 1958 Microsteiromys Walton 1990 Neosteiromys Rovereto 1914 Palaeosteiromys Boivin et al 2017 Paradoxomys Ameghino 1885 Parasteiromys Ameghino 1904 Protosteiromys Wood amp Patterson 1959 Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Genera and species 3 Classification 4 References 5 External linksCharacteristics editNew World porcupines are stout animals with blunt rounded heads fleshy mobile snouts and coats of thick cylindrical or flattened spines The quills are mixed with long soft hairs They vary in size from the relatively small prehensile tailed porcupines which are around 30 cm 12 in long and weigh about 900 g 32 oz to the much larger North American porcupine which has a body length of 86 cm 34 in and weighs up to 18 kg 40 lb 1 They are distinguished from the Old World porcupines in that they have rooted molars complete collar bones entire upper lips tuberculated soles no trace of first front toes and four teats They are less strictly nocturnal than Old World species in their habits and some types live entirely in trees while others have dens on the ground Their long and powerful prehensile tails help them balance when they are in the tree tops Their diets consist mainly of bark leaves and conifer needles but can also include roots stems berries fruits seeds nuts grasses and flowers Some species also eat insects and small reptiles 2 Their teeth are similar to those of Old World porcupines with the dental formula 1 0 1 3 1 0 1 3Solitary offspring or rarely twins are born after a gestation period of up to 210 days depending on the species The young are born fully developed with open eyes and are able to climb trees within a few days of birth 1 Genera and species editThey include three genera of which the first is represented by the North American porcupine Erethizon dorsatum a stout heavily built animal with long hairs almost or quite hiding its spines four front and five hind toes and a short stumpy tail It is a native of the greater part of Canada and the United States where any remnant of the original forest is left The tree porcupines Coendou contain 17 species They are found throughout tropical South America with two extending into Mexico They are of a lighter build than the ground porcupines with short close many coloured spines often mixed with hairs and prehensile tails The hind feet have only four toes owing to the suppression of the first in place of which they have a fleshy pad on the inner side of the foot between this pad and the toes branches and other objects can be firmly grasped as with a hand These three genera are often united into a single genus Coendou Genus Chaetomys distinguished by the shape of its skull and the greater complexity of its teeth contains the bristle spined rat C subspinosus a native of the hottest parts of Brazil This animal is often considered a member of Echimyidae on the basis of its premolars However a molecular phylogeny based on the mitochondrial gene coding for cytochrome b combined to karyological evidence actually suggests the bristle spined rat is more closely related to the Erethizontidae than to the Echimyidae and is the sister group of all other Erethizontidae 3 Classification edit nbsp Up close view of head and front claws Kenai National Wildlife Refuge AlaskaExtant genera and speciesFamily Erethizontidae Subfamily Chaetomyinae Genus Chaetomys Bristle spined rat C subspinosus Subfamily Erethizontinae Genus Coendou prehensile tailed porcupines Baturite porcupine C baturitensis discovered in 2013 4 Bicolored spined porcupine C bicolor Streaked dwarf porcupine C ichillus Bahia porcupine C insidiosus Black tailed hairy dwarf porcupine C melanurus Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine C mexicanus Black dwarf porcupine C nycthemera Brazilian porcupine C prehensilis Frosted hairy dwarf porcupine C pruinosus Andean porcupine C quichua Rothschild s porcupine C rothschildi Roosmalen s dwarf porcupine C roosmalenorum Stump tailed porcupine C rufescens Santa Marta porcupine C sanctamartae Coandumirim C speratus discovered in 2013 5 Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine C spinosus Brown hairy dwarf porcupine C vestitus Genus Erethizon North American porcupine E dorsatumFossil genera Branisamyopsis Candela 2003 Cholamys Perez et al 2018 Eopululo Frailey amp Campbell Jr 2004 Hypsosteiromys Patterson 1958 Microsteiromys Walton 1990 Neosteiromys Rovereto 1914 Palaeosteiromys Boivin et al 2017 Paradoxomys Ameghino 1885 Parasteiromys Ameghino 1904 Protosteiromys Wood amp Patterson 1959References edit a b Woods Charles 1984 Macdonald D ed The Encyclopedia of Mammals New York Facts on File pp 686 689 ISBN 0 87196 871 1 Macdonald Ed Professor David W 2006 The Encyclopedia of Mammals Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 920608 2 Vilela R V Machado T Ventura K Fagundes V Silva M J Yonenaga Yassuda Y 2009 The taxonomic status of the endangered thin spined porcupine Chaetomys subspinosus Olfers 1818 based on molecular and karyologic data BMC Evol Biol 9 29 doi 10 1186 1471 2148 9 29 PMC 2646700 PMID 19192302 Feijo Anderson Langguth Alfredo 2013 A new species of porcupine from the Baturite range Revista Nordestina de Biologia 22 1 2 124 126 Pontes A R M Gadelha J R Melo E R A SA F B Loss A C Caldara Jr V Costa L P Leite Y L R 5 Apr 2013 A new species of porcupine genus Coendou Rodentia Erethizontidae from the Atlantic forest of northeastern Brazil PDF Zootaxa 3636 3 421 438 doi 10 11646 zootaxa 3636 3 2 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erethizontidae nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Erethizontidae Erethizontidae Mammal Species of the World 3rd edition Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title New World porcupine amp oldid 1210977731, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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