THE PORCUPINES 



1339 



True Por- 

 cupines 



fur is a grayish tint, the general appearance of the animal when reposing on the 

 arm of a tree closely simulates a gnarled and lichen-clad knot. 



_,. s H A peculiar porcupine {Chtztomys subspinosus), from Central and 

 Porcupine Northern Brazil, differs from all the members of the preceding genus 



by the shape of its skull and the more complicated structure of its 

 molar teeth, as well as by the slenderness of its spines, which may be described as 

 halfway between those of the other groups and mere bristles. It is a large species, 

 of a dull brown color, with the under parts inclining to rufous, and the feet and tail 

 brownish black. The tail, although long, is not prehensile; and the habits of the 

 animal are less completely arboreal than those of the preceding group. Remains 

 of a species of Erethizon occur in the superficial deposits of Pennsylvania, and those 

 of Synetheres in the caverns of Brazil. 



With the true porcupines, as typically represented by the common 



South-European species (Hystrix cristata), we come to the second 



subfamily, all the members of which are confined to the Old World, 

 and differ from their Transatlantic cousins by the following characteristics: ex- 

 ternally the soles of the feet are perfectly smooth, the fore-feet have a small thumb, 

 and the female is provided with six teats. In the skeleton, the collar bones are 

 incomplete, and the molar teeth have imperfect roots. In habits all these porcu- 

 pines are purely nocturnal and terrestrial; consequently, the tail is never prehensile. 

 Common ^^ e common porcupine, of which a group is represented in our col- 



Porcupine ore d plate, and a single individual in the accompanying cut, is the 



best-known member of the first of these genera. As is the case with 

 the other species of the genus, it is characterized by its massive form, its large 'size, 

 the great length of the quills on the body, and by the short spiny tail terminating 

 in a cluster of short slender-stalked quills, which are hollow and open at their ex- 

 tremities; these tail-quills mak- 

 ing the peculiar rattling noise 

 noticeable when a porcupine is in 

 motion. The genus is further 

 characterized by the great eleva- 

 tion and convexity of the skull, 

 in which the chamber of the nose 

 is frequently more capacious than 

 the brain case. 



Next to the beaver, the por- 

 cupines are the largest of the 

 Old-Word Rodents, the common 

 species measuring from twenty- 

 six to twenty-eight inches in 

 length, exclusive of the tail 

 The prevailing color of this spe- 

 cies is brownish black, with a white band crossing the front of the neck, and about 

 halfway up the sides, when it becomes gradually narrow. The neck is furnished 

 with a crest of long bristles, which are mostly brown at the base and white above. 



COMMON PORCUPINE. 



