Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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. [12] A porcupine's colouring aids in part of its defence as most of the predators are nocturnal and colour-blind. A ...
When threatened, an adult porcupine can bristle its quills, displaying a white stripe down its back, and use its teeth to make a warning, clacking sound. If the olfactory, visual, and auditory warnings fail, then it can rely on its quills. An adult porcupine when attacked turns its rear to the predator.
Indian porcupines are almost the same size on average as well, being slightly heavier on average than crested porcupine but slightly lighter than Cape porcupines. [5] [6] Cape porcupines measure 63 to 81 centimetres (25 to 32 inches) long from the head to the base of the tail, with the tail adding a further 11–20 centimetres (4.3–7.9 inches ...
They have upper and lower teeth that fuse into a shape of a parrot's beak; they use this beak to eat molluscs and sea urchins. [4] [9] [10] Some species are poisonous, having tetrodotoxin in their internal organs, such as the ovaries and liver. This neurotoxin is at least 1,200 times more potent than cyanide.
Their teeth are similar to those of Old World porcupines, with the dental formula 1.0.1.3 1.0.1.3. Solitary offspring (or, rarely, twins) are born after a gestation period of up to 210 days, depending on the species.
This porcupine has a short tail which has rattle quills at the end. The rattle quills broaden at the terminal end and the broad portion is hollow with thin walls. When these quills are vibrated, they produce a hiss-like rattle. The front feet of the crested porcupine have four developed and clawed digits with a regressed thumb, the rear feet ...
It was approximately 20% larger than its closest relative, the living Indian porcupine (H. indica), reaching lengths of over 115 cm (45 in). 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 ...
Porcupines gnaw on bones to obtain nutrients necessary for quill growth, and can haul large bones into their underground dens and consume them entirely, except the hard, enamel-capped crowns of teeth. This may explain why teeth are typically found in great quantity, and why remains other than teeth are so rare. [4]