Porcupines are large

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

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

predation Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

. The term covers two

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

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 Southern Europe and the Levant, most of Africa, India, and Southeast Asia as far east a ...

s of the family Hystricidae, and the

New World porcupine The New World porcupines, family Erethizontidae, are large arboreal rodents, distinguished by their Spine (zoology), spiny coverings from which they take their name. They inhabit forests and wooded regions across North America, and into northern ...

s of the 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 skulls. The masseter medialis (a jaw muscle) passes partially through a hole below each eye socket (called the infraorbital foramen) ...

within the profoundly diverse

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

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 The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

and

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

. The Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) live in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

(western and southern), and most of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. 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, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. 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 in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...

strategy of defence. Porcupines' colouration consists of various shades of brown, grey and white. Porcupines' spiny protection resembles that of the only distantly related eulipotyphlan

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

s and Australian

monotreme Monotremes () are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only group of living mammals that lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The extant monotreme species are the platypus and the four species of echidnas. Monotremes are typified ...

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

s as well as tenrecid tenrecs.

Etymology

The word ''porcupine'' comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

+ , from

Old Italian Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian. It is spoken by about 6 ...

''porcospino'', . 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 epoch (geology), 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 mea ...

of the continent of Africa.

Species

Taxonomy

A porcupine is any of 30 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 at least 4 extinct relatives are known, the ...

'', and '' Chaetomys'') or Hystricidae (genera: '' Atherurus'', '' Hystrix'', and '' Trichys''). Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's porcupine 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. It is the largest porcupine species in the world. ...

found in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, and

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

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 (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

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 (''Ca ...

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 comm ...

) 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 Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is defined Statistics, statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth ...

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 an herbivore and often climbs trees for food; it eats leaves, herbs, twigs, and green plants such as

clover Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversit ...

. 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 a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

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

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

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, odour 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 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 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. 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''. It is the key structural material making up Scale (anatomy), scales, hair, Nail (anatomy), nails, feathers, horn (anatomy), horns, claws, Hoof, hoove ...

and are 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 animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

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 assumed and depicted in media, porcupines cannot 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 pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

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 Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...

but are eaten often in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, particularly

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, where the prominent use of them as a food source has contributed to declines in porcupine populations. Naturalist

William J. Long William Joseph Long (3 April 1867''Who's who in America'', cited i">903">''William J. Long and his book'' - a pamphlet

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

"porky roach" headdress. The main quills may be dyed and then applied in combination with thread to embellish leather accessories, such as knife sheaths and leather bags. Lakota people">Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

women would harvest the quills for quillwork 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. Porcupines are also sometimes kept as

exotic pets An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a wild species rather than as a domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as animals become firmly enough estab ...

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.

Classification

Porcupines are distributed into two evolutionarily independent groups within the suborder

Hystricomorpha Hystricomorpha (from Greek ὕστριξ, ''hystrix'' 'porcupine' and Greek μορφή, ''morphē'' 'form') is a term referring to families and orders of rodents which has had many definitions throughout its history. In the broadest sense, it ref ...

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 wide ...

, ''Atherurus africanus'' ***

African 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. It is the largest porcupine species in the world. ...

, ''Hystrix cristata'' ***

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 ''Ath ...

, ''Atherurus macrourus'' ***

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, Porcupine head Cape porcupines are the la ...

, ''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 Asia, South and Southeast Asia. Geographical distribution The Malayan porcupine ranges f ...

, ''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 t ...

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

Sunda porcupine The Sunda porcupine also known as Javan 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 Oce ...

, ''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 Threate ...

, ''Hystrix (Thecurus) crassispinis'' *** Philippine porcupine, ''Hystrix (Thecurus) pumilis'' *** Long-tailed porcupine, ''Trichys fasciculata'' ** Parvorder

Phiomorpha The rodent parvorder or infraorder Phiomorpha comprises several living and extinct families found wholly or largely in Africa. Along with Anomaluromorpha and perhaps the extinct Zegdoumyidae, it represents one of the few early colonizations of A ...

''sensu stricto'' *** Family

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

: 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'' contains a couple of extinct species, and additionally ther ...

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

Caviomorpha Caviomorpha is the rodent 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 accepted as ...

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

, ''Erethizon dorsatum'' *****

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

, ''Coendou prehensilis'' ***** Bicolored-spined porcupine, ''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)'' ***** Rothschild's porcupine, ''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 and Serranía del Perijá mountains of northern Colombia, at alti ...

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

Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine The Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine or Mexican Hairy Dwarf 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.Bio ...

, ''Coendou mexicanus'' ***** Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine, ''Coendou spinosus'' ***** Bahia porcupine, ''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 to stu ...

, ''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 named ...

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

Bristle-spined porcupine The bristle-spined rat (''Chaetomys subspinosus'') is an arboreal rodent from the Atlantic forest in eastern Brazil. Also known as the bristle-spined porcupine or thin-spined porcupine, it is the only member of the genus ''Chaetomys'' and the ...

, ''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 Hystricognathi, hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully ar ...

) *** Superfamily Cavioidea **** Family

Hydrochaeridae Hydrochoerinae is a subfamily of Caviidae, consisting of two living genera, ''Hydrochoerus'', the capybaras, and ''Kerodon'', the rock cavies. In addition, a number of extinct genera related to capybaras should also be placed in this subfamily. ...

: capybara **** Family

Caviidae Caviidae, the cavy family (biology), 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 mo ...

: 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 herbivore, herbivorous, often feeding on ripe fruit that falls from tree ...

: 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. Tuco-tucos belong to the only living genus of the family Ctenomyidae, ''Ctenomys'', but they include approximately 60 different species. The common name, "tuco-tuco", comes from the " ...

tuco-tuco A tuco-tuco is a neotropical rodent in the family Ctenomyidae. Tuco-tucos belong to the only living genus of the family Ctenomyidae, ''Ctenomys'', but they include approximately 60 different species. The common name, "tuco-tuco", comes from the " ...

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'', and ''Thrichomys''. Definition Myocastorini members share long upper incisor ro ...

: 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, ex ...

: chinchillas and allies **** Family

Dinomyidae The Dinomyidae are a family (biology), 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 la ...

: 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 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porcupine Body plans Hystricognath rodents Rodents by common name