FAMILY HYSTRICID^. 77 



FAMILY V. HYSTRICIDM. 



Clavicles rudimentary or none. Body armed with rigid sharp spines, intermixed with hair. 

 Molars sixteen ; their summits flat, with ridges of enamel. Tail various, sometimes armed 

 with spines. Tongue with spiny scales. 



Obs. This group, which is founded on the old genus Hystrix, comprises five genera, 

 founded on the predominance of hair or spines, and the shape and armature of the tail. 



GENUS HYSTRIX. Linneus. 



Head robust, short, with an obtuse snout and cleft upper lip. Ears short and rounded. 

 Eyes small. Anterior feet with four toes, posterior with five, all armed with robust curved 

 claws. Spines nearly concealed in the hair. Tail prehensile. 



THE NORTH AMERICAN PORCUPINE. 



Hystrix hudsonius. 



PLATE XXVI. FIO. 1. — PLATE VIII. FIG. 2, A, B, c. Teeth and Skull. 



Hyitrix hudsonius. Bbisson, Regnum Animale, p, 128. 



H. dorsata. LiN. 12 Ed. p. 57. 



Canada Porcupine. Penn. Arct. Zool. Vol. 1, p. 109. 



H. dorsata. Erxleben, p. 345. 



H. cristala. LosKIEL, p. 84. 



Canada Porcupine. Sabine, Franklin's Journey, p. 664. 



Erethizm dorsatum. F. Cuv. Mem. Mus. Vol. 9, p. 413. 



Canada Porcupine. CozZENS, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. New- York, Vol. 1, p. 190. Godman, Am. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2, p. 150, 



figure. 

 Hystrix pilosus. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 1, p. 214. Doughty, Cab. Nat. Hist. Vol. 1, p. 241, pi. 21. Geifpith, 



Rdgne Animal of Cuvier, Vol. 3, p. 206, figure. 

 Porcupine. Ehhons, Mass. Report, 1840, p. 71. 



Characteristics. Varying from dull brown to black. Tail moderate, thick, prehensile. Length 

 two to three feet. 



Description. Body robust, thickset, with its dorsal outline arched. Head moderate, conic, 

 with the nose truncated, broad, and flattened above. Ears short and rounded, almost entirely 

 hidden in the fur. Eyes small and black. Legs very short, with oval palms on the fore feet ; 

 four very short toes, armed with long, curved, compressed, blackish claws, grooved beneath, 

 the outer somewhat the smaller. Hind feet with five subequal claws. Fur long and coarse, 

 especially on the back, sides and posterior parts. The great and striking peculiarity of this 

 animal consists in the quills or spines, which are intermixed with the hair, capable of being 

 erected at the will of the animal, and are so loosely adherent as to be detached upon the 

 shghtest touch. These are cylindrical, tapering at both ends to an acute point. They vary 



