604 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
animal was reported to us at one of the Firestone plantations on the Du River, 
we were not fortunate enough to see or obtain specimens. Bittikofer states 
that he could find no sign of its presence in the Cape Mount Region, nor on the 
Junk and its tributaries, and it seems to avoid altogether the forested regions. 
He found it locally common, however, on the lower St. Paul’s River, where it 
did a certain amount of damage among cassava, rice, and maize fields. The 
natives catch them in dead-falls. The original specimen on which the name is 
based, was a young one without locality, the skeleton of which was preserved in 
the Muséum des Pays-Bas. 
HYSTRICIDAE Old World Porcupines 
Atherura africana africana Gray. Brush-tailed Porcupine 
Atherura africana Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist., vol. 10, p. 261, 1842: Sierra Leone. 
Size of a ground-hog, the body provided with numerous stout grooved dark-brown spines, the 
tail bearing a tuft of capsulate hairs that resemble oats and make a rustling sound when shaken. 
West African Coast region. 
The Brush-tailed Poreupine of Africa was originally described from Sierra 
Leone, so that the specimen we brought back from Paiata is to be considered 
typical. Thomas has shown that the representative form of Central Africa has 
a narrower rostrum and brain case, less inflated frontal region and smaller teeth. 
He gave it the name centralis (type locality Monbottu). Specimens from the 
Cameroons seem to be the same, so that again we have a case where the West 
Coast forest region maintains a well-differentiated subspecies. This is probably 
not uncommon in the forest but is seldom seen. Bittikofer secured it at Grand 
Cape Mount, as well as on the Junk River, and says that old termite hills are 
favorite retreats. It also makes burrows among the roots of large trees or among 
rocks, one such that he found having six entrances. On the Du River the tail 
of one was brought to us that had been roused by men at work clearing the forest. 
Hystrix cristata senegalica F. Cuvier. Crested Porcupine 
Hystrix senegalica F. Cuvier, Mém. Mus. d’Hist. Nat., Paris, vol. 9, p. 480, 1822: Senegal. 
A larger, stoutly-built species with very short tail and very long black-and-white banded quills, 
some thick and stout, others slender. Anterior part of the skull much inflated. West Africa. 
We can add nothing concerning this species, which seems to be uncommon, 
for we did not even discover its burrows. Bittikofer, however, notes specimens 
from Robertport and the Junk River. The relationship of this to the other 
forms of Hystrix described from Africa is still uncertain. If it really differs from 
typical cristata or if the Liberian form is different from that of Senegal, to which 
Cuvier’s name applies, are still somewhat uncertain. The type consisted of only 
the teeth and part of the skull of a very young one, so that a further charac- 
terization of the animal would be desirable. 
