RODENTS OF LIBYA 251 



Family Hystricidae 



Genus Hystrix Linnaeus 



Hystrix cristata Linnaeus 



Hystrix cristata Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. 10th ed., vol. 1, p. 56, 1758 (near Rome, 

 Italy). 



Remarks. I have not examined any Libyan specimens of the 

 porcupine, and judging from the few records available in the litera- 

 ture, they occur only sparingly in the mountainous areas near the 

 coast. They are apparently unknown from the deserts and oases 

 of the interior. 



Figure S3. — Known localities of occurrence of Hystrix cristata. 



While we were camped in the Gebel es Soda of southern Tripoli- 

 tania, a local bedouin mentioned having frequently seen porcupines 

 in the surrounding mountains, but I observed no signs of their presence 

 here or elsewhere in Libj^a. Setzer (1957) found spines of the porcupine 

 at Wadi Ahmar, 40 kilometers southeast of Benghazi, in Cyrenaica, 

 but obtained no specimens. 



