''Hystrix refossa'' is an extinct species of large

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...

that was widespread in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

Taxonomy

''Hystrix refossa'' was first described by palaeontologist

Paul Gervais Paul Gervais full name François Louis Paul Gervais (26 September 1816 – 10 February 1879) was a French palaeontologist and entomologist. Biography Gervais was born in Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine ...

in 1852. Over the years, other large species of ''Hystrix'' have been described, including ''H. angressi'' from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and ''H. gigantea'' of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

. These forms are now considered synonymous with ''H. refossa''.

Description

''Hystrix refossa'' was larger than living porcupines. It was approximately 20% larger than its closest relative, the living Indian porcupine (''H. indica''), reaching lengths of over . It also differs from the Indian porcupine in having a high and narrow occipital region, in the anteriorly convergent arrangement of maxillary cheek-teeth series, and in its mandible and the cheek-teeth pattern.

Paleoecology

The earliest remains of ''H. refossa'' are dated to the start of the

Villafranchian Villafranchian age ( ) is a period of geologic time (3.5–1.0 Ma) spanning the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. Named by Italian geologist Lorenzo Pareto for a sequence of terrestria ...

and were found at the site of

Milea, Grevena Milea (; also ''Milia'') is a village and a community of the Grevena municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was a part of the municipality of Irakleotes, of which it was a municipal district. The 2011 census recorded 205 residen ...

in northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. It presumably inhabited vegetated river banks within a mosaic of open and forested terrain under warm and humid conditions.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108084083 Prehistoric rodents Pleistocene rodents Pleistocene mammals of Europe Prehistoric mammals of Europe Pleistocene mammals of Asia Prehistoric mammals of Asia Hystricidae