Porcupine
the popular name for any individual of the genus Hystrix or the family Hystricidæ (divided into two groups, Hystricina and Synetherina, or two sub-families, Hystricinæ and Sphingurinæ). The common porcupine (H. PORCUPINE cristata) may be taken as a type of the true porcupine. It is found in the S. of Europe, and the N. and W. of Africa, is about 28 inches long, exclusive of the tail, about four inches. It is somewhat heavily built, with obtuse head and short limbs. The head, fore quarters, and under surface are clothed with short spines, intermixed with hairs, crest on head and neck, hind quarters covered with long sharp spines, ringed with black and white, and erectile at will. They are but loosely attached to the skin and POROSITY readily fall out. It is a purely vegetable feeder, and lives in holes in the rock, and burrows in the ground. The hairy-nosed porcupine is H. leucura (or hirsutirostris) from Syria, Asia Minor, and India; and the brush-tailed porcupines belong to the genus Atherura. They have long tails, tipped with peculiar flattened spines.