362 Mammatia oF INDIA. 
GENUS HYSTRIX—THE PORCUPINE. 
“« Spines cylindrical ; tail short, covered with spines and slender-stalked 
open quills ; nasal cavity usually very large ; air sinuses of frontals greatly 
developed ; teeth as in Atherura. The hind-feet with five toes; claws 
very stout.” 
The hinder part of the body is covered by a great number of sharp 
spines, ringed black and white, mostly tipped with white ; the spines 
are hollow or filled with a spongy tissue, but extremely tough and 
resistant, with points as sharp as a needle. ‘The animal is able to erect 
these by a contraction of the skin, but the old idea that they could be 
projected or shot out at an assailant is erroneous. They easily drop 
out, which may have given an idea of discharge. ‘The porcupine attacks 
by backing up against an opponent or thrusting at him by a sidelong 
motion. I kept one some years ago, and had ample opportunity of 
studying his mode of defence. When a dog or any other foe comes to 
close quarters, the porcupine wheels round and rapidly charges back. 
They also have a side-way jerk which is effective. 
No. 403. HyYsTRIX LEUCURA. 
The White-tailed Indian Porcupine (Jerdon’s No, 204). 
Native Names.—Xavnta-sahi, Sayi, Sayal, Sarsel, Hindi; Sajru, 
Bengali; Chotia-dumsee, Nepali; Saori, Gujrati; Salendra and Saya, 
Mahrathi; Yed, Canarese; Ho-igu, Gondi; Phyoo, Burmese; HHeefava, 
Singhalese. 
Hasirat.—All over India (except perhaps Lower Bengal), Burmah 
and Ceylon. 
DescriIPTION.—Blackish-brown ; muzzle clad with short, stiff, bristly 
hairs; whiskers long and black, and a few white spines on the face ; 
spines on the throat short, grooved, some with white setaceous points 
forming a half-collar; crest of head and neck formed of long black 
bristles, with here and there one with a long white tip ; the spines of the 
sides are short, flattish, grooved or striated, mostly with white points ; 
the large quills of the back are either entirely black or ringed at the base 
and middle with white, a few with white tips; the longer and thinner 
quills on the back and sides have long white terminations ; many of these 
again, particularly the longest, have a basal and one or two central 
white rings; the short quills on the mesial line of the lumbar region are 
nearly all white, and the longer striated quills of this region are mostly 
white ; quills of the tail white or yellowish, a few black ones at the root ; 
pedunculated quills are long, broad, and much flattened in old animals. 
S1ze.—Head and body, 32 inches ; tail, 8 inches. 
The description given in his ‘Prodromus Faunze Zeylanice’ by 
