Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Hystrix cristata is listed as endangered (Amori and Angelici 1992) and has, at least in Italy, been protected since 1974 (Bruno and Riccardi 1995). They are poached for food and killed because they are considered an agricultural pest (Nowak 1991; Amori and Angelici 1992). In addition to humans, enemies include lions, leopards, large birds of prey, and hyenas (Grzimek 1990).
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Porcupines are considered agricultural pests because they gnaw the bark of plantation rubber trees and eat corn, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, cassava, and young cotton plants (Nowak 1991).
Porcupine quills are often used as ornaments and talismans (Nowak 1991). The meat of these animals is considered a delicacy, and thus they are illegally hunted (Amori and Angelici 1992).
Positive Impacts: food
Hystrix cristata is an herbivore that eats bark, roots, tubers, rhizomes, bulbs, fallen fruits and cultivated crops (Nowak 1991; Bruno and Riccardi 1995; Grzimek 1990). They occasionally consume insects, small vertebrates and carrion (Nowak 1991; Grzimek 1990). In addition, they commonly gnaw on bones for calcium and to sharpen incisors (Nowak 1991; Grzimek 1990). Hystrix cristata can travel significant distances in search of food (Nowak 1991; Pigozzi and Patterson 1990).
Crested porcupines have high crowned teeth with plane chewing surfaces for grinding plant cells that are then digested in the stomach (Grzimek 1990). Undigested fibers are retained in the enlarged appendix and anterior large intestine and broken up by microorganisms (Grzimek 1990).
Plant Foods: roots and tubers
Primary Diet: herbivore (Lignivore, Eats sap or other plant foods)
Hystrix cristata is found in Italy, Sicily, and along the Mediterranean coast of Africa to northern Zaire and Tanzania (Nowak 1991; Amori and Angelici 1992). Some scientists say H. cristata was introduced into Italy by the Romans as a game animal, however fossil records indicate their presence back to the Upper Pleistocene (Amori and Angelici 1992). They are believed to have recently gone extinct in the Balkans (Amori and Angelici 1992).
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )
Hystrix are highly adaptable, found in forests, rocky areas, mountains, croplands, and sandhill deserts (Nowak 1991; Grzimek 1990). They shelter in caves, rock crevices, aardvark holes, or burrows they dig themselves (Grzimek 1990). Burrows are often extensive and used for many years (Nowak 1991).
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest ; mountains
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 28 (high) years.
The average head and body length of the crested porcupine is 600-930 mm, with a tail length of 80-170 mm (Nowak 1991). The head, neck, shoulders, limbs and underside of body are covered with coarse, dark brown or black bristles (Nowak 1991). The animal is characterized by quills along the head, nape, and back that can be raised into a crest, in addition to sturdier quills about 350 mm long along the sides and back half of body generally used for defensive purposes (Nowak 1991). These stronger quills are generally marked with alternating light and dark bands.
Hystrix is distinct among Old World porcupines due to its shorter tail and the presence of rattle quills at the end of the tail (Nowak 1991). These quills broaden at the terminal end and this section is hollow and thin walled, so a hisslike rattle is produced by their vibration (Nowak 1991).
The forefoot of Hystrix has four well-developed, clawed digits (the thumb is regressed), and the hind foot has five (Nowak 1991; Grzimek 1990). The soles of paws are naked and have pads (Grzimek 1990), and their gait is plantigrade (Nowak 1991). Eyes and external ears are very small, with long vibrissae on the head (Nowak 1991; Grzimek 1990).
The animal's skull morphology is characteristic in several ways: (1) the infraorbital foramen is greatly enlarged so that portions of the masseter extend through it and arise from the frontal side surface of the snout (hystricomorphous condition); (2) the angular process is inflected on the lower jaw; (3) the nasal cavity is enlarged; (4) prominent pockets-like inflations are prominent in the skull, upper jaw and lacrimal and turbinate bones (reasons for such pockets are unknown, however they do create enlarged areas of attachment for chewing muscles and could possibly allow animals to smell undergrond bulbs during dry periods or wet dry inhaled air); (4) shin and calf bones are fused; (5) the collar bone is greatly reduced; and (6) five teeth in each jaw -- one incisor, one premolar and three molars (Grzimek 1990).
Range mass: 10 to 30 kg.
Average mass: 0.02 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Much of our knowledge of breeding behavior in H. cristata comes from captive individuals. Nowak (1991) reported that breeding occurs throughout the year at the London Zoo, from July to December in Central Africa, and from March to December in Indian zoos. He also indicated that captive females in South Africa produced litters throughout the year, mainly from August to March with a peak in January. Usually, females have only one litter per year (Nowak 1991). After a 35 day estrous cycle and 112 day gestation period, one to two well developed offspring are born in a grasslined chamber within the burrow system (Nowak 1991; Grzimek 1990). At birth or shortly afterward, the young's eyes are open and incisors are completely broken through (Grzimek 1990). The body is covered with short hair, and back spines are still soft with individual sensing bristles projecting far beyond the spines (Grzimek 1990). Newborn weigh only 3% of the mother's body weight. Yet they leave the den for first time after only one week, at which time the spines begin to harden (Grzimek 1990). The young begin to feed on solid food between two and three weeks, and the five white stripes found on their side start to disappear at four weeks (Grzimek 1990). Hystrix cristata individuals usually reach adult weight at one to two years and are usually sexually mature just before then (Grzimek 1990).
Hystrix cristata females do not show aggression to familiar males, but are aggressive to unknowns (Grzimek 1990). Given their spiny anatomy, mating would be impossible without such an adaptation. To mate, the female raises her tail and the male stands on his hind legs, supporting himself with his forefeet on the female's back (Grzimek 1990). According to Felicioli et al. (1997), no male weight is transferred to the female, no penile lock occurs, and there are multiple intromissions and multiple thrustings. Mating occurs only at night, both in and out of the burrow (Felicioli et al. 1997). The females have two to three pair of lateral thoracic mammae (Nowak 1991) and males have no scrotum and the penis points backward in the resting position (Grzimek 1990).
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Average birth mass: 1000 g.
Average gestation period: 66 days.
Average number of offspring: 2.3.
Localized (Salloum).
Accidental ?
The crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata), also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae native to Italy, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.[1][2]
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The adult crested porcupine has an average head and body length around 60 to 83 cm (24 to 33 in) long, discounting the tail, and weighs from 13 to 27 kg (29 to 60 lb). It is one of the largest rodents in the world.[3]
Almost the entire body is covered with bristles which are either dark brown or black and rather coarse. This mammal is recognizable by the quills that run along the head, nape, and back that can be raised into a crest, hence the name crested porcupine. Also, some sturdier quills which are about 35 cm (14 in) in length run along the sides and back half of the body. These sturdier quills are used, for the most part, for defense and are usually marked with light and dark bands which alternate; these are not firmly attached. This porcupine has a short tail which has rattle quills at the end. The rattle quills broaden at the terminal end and the broad portion is hollow with thin walls. When these quills are vibrated, they produce a hiss-like rattle.
The front feet of the crested porcupine have four developed and clawed digits with a regressed thumb, the rear feet have five. The paws have naked and padded soles and have a plantigrade gait. The ears are external and both the eyes and ears are very small with long vibrissae on its head. The skull is distinctive in many ways: first, the infraorbital foramen is greatly enlarged so portions of the masseter extend through it and attach from the frontal side surface of the snout; second, the angular process is inflected on the lower jaw, and third, the nasal cavity is enlarged. Prominent pockets create enlarged areas of attachment for chewing muscles. Collar bones are very much reduced, and one incisor, one premolar and three molars are present in each quadrant.[4] The male's penis is directed caudally (towards the rear end) when not erect.[5]
The crested porcupine is found in Italy, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. In the Mediterranean, it is known from mainland Italy and the island of Sicily, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; they are also recorded in Ghana, Libya and along the Egyptian coast. It has been recorded from sea level to 2,550 m (8,370 ft) in Moroccan Anti-Atlas. The crested porcupine is thought to have been introduced to Italy in the Late Antique/early medieval period.[6]
The crested porcupine is native to Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia,[7] Gambia, Ghana, Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda.[6] It may be locally extinct in Egypt.
The crested porcupine is a terrestrial mammal; it very seldom climbs trees, but can swim. It is nocturnal and monogamous. The crested porcupine takes care of the young for an extended period, and small family groups consist of the adult pair and young of various ages. In defense, when disturbed, they raise and fan their quills to make themselves look bigger. If continually bothered, the crested porcupine will stamp its feet, whirr the quills, and charge the disturber back end first trying to stab the enemy with the thicker, shorter quills. These attacks are known to have killed lions, leopards, hyenas, and even humans.[4]
Crested porcupines have been known to collect thousands of bones that they find at night. They are mostly nocturnal, and they may come upon the skeletons of animals. They collect these bones and store them in an underground chamber or cave.[8]
The crested porcupine is for the most part herbivorous, eating roots, bulbs, and leaves, but occasionally they do consume insects, small vertebrates, and carrion. To ingest calcium and sharpen incisors, they often gnaw on bones. These animals often travel long distances looking for food. They have high crowned teeth that grind plant tissues which are digested in the stomach, and the undigested fibers are retained in an enlarged appendix and anterior large intestine, where they are broken down by microorganisms.
Most of what is known about reproduction in the crested porcupine comes from individuals in captivity. Usually, female crested porcupines have one litter every year. One or two well developed young are born in a chamber within the burrow that is usually lined with grass, after on average a 66-day gestation period. The young weigh about 1,000 g (2.2 lb) at birth, which is about 5% of the mother's weight. They leave the den after one week. At this time, the spines begin to harden. Crested porcupines reach adult weight at one to two years and are often sexually mature just before then.[4] Breeding occurs throughout the year.[9]
Skeleton, Museum of Osteology The crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata), also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae native to Italy, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
