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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 ( Castor canadensis ).
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 oldest dating to the Late Pliocene . [ 2 ]
The word porcupine comes from the Latin porcus ' pig ' + spina ' spine, quill ', from Old Italian porcospino, ' thorn-pig '. [4] [5] A regional American name for the animal is quill-pig. [6] 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. [7]
North American beaver: Castor canadensis: Extant: 50 kg (110 lb) 5: Lesser capybara: Hydrochoerus isthmius: Extant: 45.4 kg (100 lb) 6: Eurasian beaver: Castor fiber: Extant: 40 kg (88 lb) 7: Cape porcupine: Hystrix africaeaustralis : Extant: 30 kg (66 lb) 8: Crested porcupine: Hystrix cristata : Extant: 27 kg (60 lb) 9: North American ...
Common name Scientific name Status [2] Notes Distribution [2] ... North American porcupine: Erethizon doratum: Uncommon Northern and central Family: Zapodidae.
Species are listed by common name, scientific name, typical habitat and relative abundance. ... North American porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, forests, sagebrush ...
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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).