HYSTRICID.E. 



11YSTRIX. 



1M 



the hir; intermixed are MOM stiff strangling hair*, threo inch 

 lower than U rut, lipped with dirty whit* ; under tide of the tail 

 white; foot taw on UM tan fort, fire behind, ech armed with long 

 daws. boUowcd on their trader rid* ; the form of the body is 

 exactly that of a bearer, but U not half the sie. One whi.-h 

 Mr. lUcki brought from Kewfoundbind was about the sice of a 

 hart, bat more compactly made; the tail about MI inches long. 

 (Pennant) 



Tin foUowtof k from F. Curler's figure of tbo teeth of Erethizon, 



Teeth of XreHoon, Ice. f. Cuvirr. 



Theae yniml vary in intensity of colour. Peunont alludes to one 

 entirely white in the possession of Sir Ashton Lever. 



This is the t'an'a Jlmltonii, Klein ; Byttrix Ifuihonhtt, Brisson ; 

 //. piianu, Catetby ; //. duriata, Linnicus; L'Urson, Buffon; Canada 

 Porcupine, Forster, Pennant, and others; Cawquaw of the Cree 

 Indiana ; and Ooketook of the Esquimaux. 



The Canada Porcupine is a sluggish animal Hearne says that the 

 Indians going with. packets from fort to fort, often see them in the 

 trees, but not baring occasion for them at the time, leave them till 

 their return, and should their absence be a week or ten days, they are 



ire to find the porcupines within a mile of the place where they had 

 bjfore seen them. Mr. Hutchins states that, in walking, the tail is 

 drawn along the snow, making a deep track, which is ofteu the means 

 of betraying the animal ; but that its haunts are most readily dis- 

 covered by the barked tree* on which it has fed, which if barked the 

 aaOM winter, are sure signs of their vicinity. They are, he says, 

 usually found on the branches, and, on approaching them, they make 



crying noise like a child. Then the tree is cut down, and the 

 animal killed by a blow on the nose. Sir John Richardson informs 

 us that this species is found on the banks of the Mackenzie, as high 

 a* 1st 67*, and that, according to American writers, it ranges as far 

 south a* hit 37*. He adds, that it is said to be very rare in Virginia, 

 bat to be numerous in some parts of Kentucky; and that it is 

 reported to have multiplied greatly, of late years, near Oneida Lake 

 in the state of New York. (Cozzens.) Sir John Richardson further 

 Utes that in the Fur Countries it is most numerous in sandy districts 

 curered with the Pi\u Banttiana, on the bark of which it delights 

 to fnd ; that it also eaU the bark of the larch and spruce firs, and 

 the bods of various kinds of willow ; and that, in the more southern 

 districts, it if said to feed chiefly on the bark and leaves of the Pinui 

 CenaJmn'i and Ttlia ylabra, and to be fond of sweet apples and young 

 mate*, which it rats in a sitting posture, holding the food to its 

 mouth with the fore-paws. " It is," continues Sir John, " readily 

 attacked by the Indian dogs, and soon killed, but not without injury 

 to iU siailanto, for iu imills, which it erects when attacked, are 

 ronfh, with minute teeth directed backwards, that have the effect of 

 niMtoiUM this seemingly weak and flexible weapon a very dangerous 

 one. Their point*, which are pretty sharp, have no sooner insinuated 

 UiemssJves into the skin of an assailant, than they gradually bury 

 Uwmaclrce, and travel onwards until they cause death by wounding 

 some vital organ. These spines; which are detached from the porcu- 

 pine by the slightest tourb, and probably by the will of the animal 



I Ul the months of the dogi which worry it, and unless the Indian 



women carefully pick them out, seldom fail to kill them. Wolves 

 occasionally die from the same cause. The Canada Porcupine makes 

 its retreat amongst the roots of an old tree, and is said to pass much 

 of its time in sleeping. When disturbed, it makes a whining or mew- 

 ing noise. It pairs in the latter end of September, and brings forth 

 two young ones in April or May. Its flesh, which tastes like flabby 

 j>ork, is relished by the Indians, but is soon nauseated by Europeans. 

 The bones are often deeply tinged with a greenish-yellow colour. 

 Like other animals which feed on coarse vegetable substances, it is 

 much infested by intestinal worms. The quills or spines are dyed of 

 various bright colours by the native women, and worked into shot- 

 pouches, belts, shoes, and other ornamental articles of dress." (' Fauna 

 Boreali- Americana.') 



Synartha-et (F. Cuvier). Muzzle large and short ; head convex in 

 front ; spines short ; tail very long, naked at the end, and prehensile, 

 like that of an Opossum (Sarigue) or of a Sapajou ; feet with only 

 four toes, armed with claws. 



S. prehemilit ; J/ystri.c prcltcmilii, Linn. Nose short and blunt ; 

 long white whiskers ; beneath the nose a bed of small spines ; top 

 of the head, back, sides, and base of the tail, covered with spines ; 

 the longest on the lower part of the back and tail, 3 inches in length, 

 very sharp, white, barred near their points with black ; adhere closely 

 to the skin, which U quite naked between them ; are shorter and 

 weaker as they approach the belly ; on the breast, belly, and lower 

 part of the legs are converted into dark-brown bristles ; feet divided 

 into four toes; claws very long; on the place of the thumb a great 

 protuberance ; tail 18 inches long, slender, and taper towards the end ; 

 the last 10 inches almost naked, having only a few hairs on it ; has, 

 for that length, a strong prehensile quality. (Pennant.) 



This appears to be the Cuandu (major) of Marcgravo and Piao ; 

 Orico Cachero and Espinho of the Portuguese; Hoitzlacuatzin of 

 Hernandez ( ? ) ; the Brazilian Porcupine of authors. 



The Brazilian Porcupine appears very much to resemble the Canada 

 Porcupine in it* habits, living in woods, sleeping by day, and feeding 

 on fruits, &c. by night. Marcgrave states that its voice is like that 

 of a sow. The quills are stated to have the same penetrating and 

 destructive quality as those of the Canadian species. It is a sluggish 

 animal, climbing trees very slowly, and holding on with its prehensile 

 tail, especially in its descent It grows very fat, and the flesh is 

 said to be white and well-tasted. Our cut is token from a living 

 specimen in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, Regent's Park. 



Brazilian Porcupine (Sytucthcrn prtkeiiiili*). 



The genus Sphigunu appears to bo founded on the Coui of Azara. 



f'otril ffyttriciHUf. Cuvier (' Osscmens Fossiles,' vol. v. part 2, 

 p. 518) states that Mr. Pentland found in the Val d'Arno, near San 

 Giovanni, in the same sandy beds which contain so many bones of 

 largo quadrupeds, a molar tooth exactly resembling that of a great 

 porcupine, but which appeared to be fossil. Remains of Porcupines 

 have been found by Messrs. Falconer and Cautlcy in the Sewalik Hill.-. 



HYHTKIX. [HYSTRICIP*:.] 



