Porcupines

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Porcupines
Common porcupine (Hystrix cristata)

Common porcupine ( Hystrix cristata )

Systematics
Subclass : Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate : Euarchontoglires
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha)
Partial order : Hystricognathi
Family : Porcupines
Scientific name
Hystricidae
Fischer , 1817

The porcupines (Hystricidae) are a family of rodents with 11 species that are found in parts of Asia, Africa and also in southern Europe. With body lengths of up to over a meter, the animals are among the largest representatives of rodents worldwide. They are characterized by spikes on the back and tail, which have developed from transformed hair and accordingly consist of keratin . These spikes are used passively and also actively against potential enemies. The animals are generally nocturnal and feed on parts of plants. Unlike most mammals, porcupines form monogamous pairs that form family groups with their offspring.

The occasional name "old world porcupines" as well as the English name "old world porcupines" is intended to differentiate the animals from the American tree spines or "tree porcupines" .

features

External features

Indian white-tailed porcupine (Hystrix indica)
Brush spike ( T. fasciculata ), drawing by Thomas Hardwicke around 1833

The porcupines are medium to large sized rodents. Some of the species, along with the capybaras and beavers, are among the largest rodents in the world and are the largest rodents in Europe, Asia and Africa. The South African porcupine in particular can reach a maximum body length of over a meter and a weight of 10 to a maximum of 24 kilograms. The smallest species of the brush prickly ( Trichys ) and the tassel prickly ( Atherurus ) weigh only about 1.5 kilograms and reach a total length of less than 50 centimeters. Within the porcupines, the species of the genus Hystrix differ significantly from those of the brush spines and the tassel spines, which are sometimes summarized as Atherurinae. The former are stocky, with short legs and short tails hidden in a pronounced spiked dress. In contrast, the species of Atherurinae are usually smaller, with a slimmer and rat-like body and longer tails and less pronounced spines. A sexual dimorphism is not or only very little developed in the species, the males and females are accordingly difficult to distinguish. The eyes and ears of the animals are only small, the whiskers of the face are long and rigid.

Quills of the porcupine

Most species are brown to black in body color, in some species the spines are white and black banded and give the animals a corresponding black and white color. The hair is bristly and often transformed into conspicuous spines, which are found in all species and, depending on the species, cover parts of the body or the entire body. With spines of up to 30 centimeters in length, the porcupines have the longest spines of all mammals , in which the spines formed several times independently of one another in different groups. Convergent formations can be found within the monotremes in the ant urchins , within the insect eater in the hedgehog , within the tenre-cardigens in the hedgehog trek and within the rodents also in the American tree spines or New World porcupines (Erethizontidae), which are not closely related to the porcupines. There are different types of hair and spines in the hair and spiked clothing of the porcupines: soft woolen hair, stiffer hair, flat bristles, thick, very elastic, long bristles (feeler bristles) and rigid, long round skewers. The spines vary in length, thickness, shape and color, depending on the type and position on the body, they are all pointed and serve as a defense. The spikes have a round cross-section with a spongy inner structure, which is covered by a horny keratin-rich layer. The largest diameter of the spines lies in the middle, the spine thins on both sides and the tip is studded with barbs. The spines are anchored in a muscle layer under the skin through which they can be erected. In addition, the animals have flexible feeler bristles, the largest diameter of which is in the area of ​​the base and whose length of up to 50 centimeters can significantly exceed the length of the spines.

The tail length is generally relatively short and is 13 to 50% of the body length. The brush prick has the longest tail with about half the body length, which is known in the English-speaking world as "Long-tailed Porcupine". In all species, the tail is more or less covered with spines, which in some species are designed as spiked tassels with spines transformed into rattles. The spines of the tail tassel are specially developed and have some species-specific characteristics. With the brush spikes ( Trichys ) they are designed as flattened and soft, brush-brush- like bristles. The tassel spikes ( Atherurus ) have hollow and plate-like shaped bristles in the tail tassel and the hystrix species have thick, hollow and capsule-shaped tassel spikes that produce a loud and rattling noise when the tail is moved. The Hystrix species also have bristles up to 30 centimeters long that cover the head and neck and form a clearly defined crest.

The legs of the animals are short and stocky , especially in the Hystrix species, with bare soles on the front and rear feet. All four feet each have five toes that end in horny claws, but the thumb (pollex) is smaller. The females have two to three pairs of side teats , which means that the young can reach them even when the mother is lying on her stomach.

Features of the skull and skeleton

Common porcupine skull ( Hystrix cristata )

The head of the porcupine is compact and tall with very broad jaws, where the chewing muscles attach. As hystricognathi, they differ from rodents of other taxa by a so-called hystricomorphic skull and muscle structure and a corresponding design of the lower jaw and skull. The eponymous feature is the hystricognathic lower jaw: the angular process growing from the rear end of the lower jaw is not in line with the rest of the jaw, as is the case with other rodents with sciurognathic jaw structure, but is laterally and broadly angled. The masseter muscle (Musculus masseter) is in two parts , with a short strand extending from the lower jaw to the zygomatic arch and a longer and deeper part leading through the enlarged infraorbital foramen ("under eye hole") to the anterior edge of the eye. Within the family there is also the tendency towards a flatter facial skull and larger nasal bones , which are still small in the brush prickles and the tassel prickles, enlarged in the representatives of the Hystrix subgenus Thecurus and Acanthion and clearly protruding in the species of the subgenus Hystrix . The enlarged nasal cavity, the upper jaw and the lacrimal bone are also inflated by air spaces, which probably represent an adaptation to the dry and hot habitats of the animals and make it easier to find underground tubers.

1 · 0 · 1 · 3  =  20
1 · 0 · 1 · 3
Porcupine tooth formula

The animals have a typical rodent teeth with too Nage teeth converted incisors (incisors) and a subsequent tooth gap ( diastema ). In both the upper jaw and the lower jaw, one premolar and three molars per half follow . In total, the animals have a set of 20 teeth. The upper incisors are large and proodont , they have no furrows and are therefore smooth on the front. The chewing surfaces of the upper premolars and molars each have three outer and one inner enamel layers, the lower three inner and one outer enamel layer. These layers wear out differently in the course of life, creating islands of different layers on the chewing surfaces. In the brush prickers and the tassel prickers , the molars are flat-crowned and they have only small tooth roots , the tooth crowns of the molars in the Hystrix species, on the other hand, are high-crowned and they have larger roots.

The postcranial skeleton corresponds to the typical rodent skeleton and has no family-specific features. Especially in the larger species it is very strongly built, the feet touch the ground with the entire foot area (plantigrad).

distribution and habitat

Distribution areas of the porcupines

The range of the porcupines includes the tropical and subtropical Asia as well as parts of Africa with the exception of the desert areas of the Sahara , a species also occurs in Europe in parts of Italy and Sicily . Most of the species live in Southeast Asia , with some of the species being endemic to individual islands or archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines . Three species live in Africa, and the common porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ) was probably introduced to Italy during the Roman Empire . The distribution area of ​​the Indian white-tailed porcupine ( Hystrix indica ) stretches from the eastern Mediterranean region through Central Asia to India , Nepal and the south of the People's Republic of China .

Porcupines are found in the coastal lowlands as well as in mountain regions up to heights of 3500 meters. Although some of the species colonize very specific habitats, they can be found as a whole in a wide variety of habitats, and the hystrix species in particular can be found in habitats that differ significantly from one another. They live in the coastal scrubland and Mediterranean dune areas, warm and cold savannah areas and dry semi-deserts as well as forest and rainforest areas of the lowlands and mountains. Hystrix species also live partly in acacia and brachystegia stocks and also in agricultural areas and near human settlements. The two brush-tailed porcupine , however TYPES occur only in tropical rain forest areas in Asia and Africa.

Way of life

Malay porcupine ( Hystrix brachyura )
Sunda porcupine ( Hystrix javanica )

All types of porcupines live primarily on the ground, only the Asian brush spiny ( Trichys fasciculata ) can also climb trees. The animals are nocturnal and spend their activity phase searching for food and eating. As a rule, they move along regularly used paths, sometimes covering long distances. Some species dig tunnels and burrows, others hide in crevices in the rocks or in the abandoned burrows of other animals. The porcupines spend the day in the burrows and hiding places where they make a nest out of plant material. Porcupines are sole walkers (plantigrad), so they step with the entire foot. As a result, they develop a shaky gait when disturbed and run faster. With the exception of the brush prick, they also rub their tail spines together while running and stamp their feet when they feel threatened.

All species of porcupines, of which the mating behavior is known, are monogamous and accordingly have only one partner over their lifespan. Together with their young and subadult offspring, the couples form family groups of 2 to 14 individuals in which they live until the end of their lives. Although they usually hunt for food individually, they often meet in groups at the available food sources. Social grooming can also be observed in these animals in captivity . It is not known whether the tassel spikes are monogamous, but they often occur in groups and sometimes share their burrows in mixed-sex groups. In the nests, the family groups and, in the case of other species such as the Asian tassel spines, also groups (clans) of unrelated individuals live together and use a common sleeping structure, where they lie close together and warm each other. They also go for food in groups and defend themselves together against potential enemies. The groups also use the same paths, feeding places, areas for depositing excrement (latrines), territories and places of retreat.

The size of the territories and the activity spaces depends heavily on the region, the habitat and the availability of food. In Italy, the territories are larger in the warmer seasons than in the colder seasons and larger in agricultural areas than in other regions. In the Israeli arid regions, on the other hand, the territories in the non-agricultural areas are almost 40% larger than those in the agricultural areas.

communication

The communication between the animals has mainly been studied in the larger Hystrix species. It takes place visually, acoustically via sounds and olfactorily via scent marks. Both males and females use scent marks via their perianal glands in the area of ​​the anus as well as through urine marks to mark their territories, the couples also defend them against intruders. The areas in which they raise their young are defended particularly aggressively. In some species, the spines of the tail tassel probably act as a scent carrier (osmetrichia) and are equipped with specific channels. In addition, there are various sounds made by the animals, which serve for communication. Cross-species communication also takes place very strongly towards potential predators. On the one hand, it consists passively of the high-contrast brown and white spines as a warning color , which are also easily recognizable at night , on the other hand, directly and actively as of conspicuous behaviors such as the rattling of the tail tassel and the raising of the spines as the first warning signal. If these signals do not work and do not deter the potential aggressor, the animals also stamp their feet and make threatening grunting noises, then they turn their spiked torso against the attacker and run backwards or sideways towards or against him, so the erect spines with their barbs dig into the skin and get stuck.

nutrition

South African porcupine feeding marks on the trunk of Ziziphus mucronata

Porcupines primarily feed on plant-based foods such as grass, fruits, bark, tubers and roots. In some cases, however, they can also eat omnivorous and also eat insects and other small animals. In addition, the animals also look for carcasses and bones and feed on them as scavengers ( osteophagy ). South African porcupines mainly feed on underground roots and tubers, which they dig up with the help of their forefeet. In addition, they eat sprouts and shoots, bark and branches as well as fruits. In agricultural areas, they can cause great economic damage if they forage in areas with cassava, melons, sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts, bananas and pumpkins. They also peel off the bark of trees in savannah areas and can thereby severely damage the trees, which in some cases also limit the spread of plants.

To eat, the animals use their front legs, with which they can position pieces of food and press them against the ground in order to then gnaw on them. The Hystrix species in particular also dig in the ground for seeds, roots, tubers and insect larvae. This creates round and conical holes in the ground, which ecologically lead to the fact that, mainly in the semi-desert and steppe areas of their distribution areas, for example in southern Africa or Israel, water penetrates the dry and hard crust-covered soil and thus to the seeds contained in the soil. Although porcupines are rarely seen drinking fluids, all species likely require access to clean water and drink as their food cannot provide them with enough water.

Very little information is available on the diet and ingestion of the species in Southeast Asia.

Reproduction

Mother with young animal

Since all species of porcupines are very large compared to other rodents, they generally have a long development time. However, there is little or no information available on reproduction and development for most species of porcupine, and the majority of observations come from the large African and Asian hystrix species. Mating takes place throughout the year, regardless of female ovulation and the associated fertility. This reproductive-independent sexual behavior is partly interpreted as strengthening the pair bond of the porcupines. The mating itself is strongly ritualized in the Hystrix species, whereby there is a foreplay between the partners before the actual mating act, in which the animals demonstrate their willingness to mate and their willingness to mate and the mating itself only takes place when the female touches the spines of the abdomen raises and enables the male to mate .

The gestation period is 90 to 120 days, after which the dams usually give birth to one to three fully developed young animals with open eyes and fully developed but still soft coat. The young can walk shortly after birth and are suckled by the mother for about 2 months, during which time the hair hardens into spikes. Weaning takes about four months and the animals reach sexual maturity after a year, and even later in the larger species. The parents raise the young animals together, with the male taking on the same share of care as the female. After weaning, the young animals search for food together with their parents and are defended by them against attackers. As long as the juvenile animals live with their parents, the sexuality of the growing females is suppressed, whereby the specific suppression mechanism is not known.

The lifespan is comparatively long, in captive animals it can be more than 20 years.

Predators

Although the porcupines are very defensive, there are some potential predators in addition to humans who can attack and kill these animals. These are mainly larger predators such as the lion ( Panthera leo ), the leopard ( Panthera pardus ), the striped hyena ( Hyaena hyaena ) and the spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ), the African wild dog ( Lycaon pictus ), the wolf ( Canis lupus ), the black-backed jackal ( Canis mesomelas ) and the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ).

Evolution and systematics

Tribal history

The separation of the porcupine trunk line from other rodent groups probably took place in South Asia in the late Eocene , about 36.5 million years ago. However, no fossils are known that date back to the early Miocene . For this period there are finds in southern Asia, in south-eastern Europe and in North America. The oldest known find that was assigned to the porcupines was Sivacanthion complicatus from the Siwaliks in Pakistan ; it was later assigned to the species Atherurus karnuliensis and thus to the tassel spines .

The genus Hystrix was first found in fossil records in Europe; other early fossils of the genus have come down to us from Pakistan, India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. The oldest known European species, Hystrix parvae from Csákvár in Hungary, is dated to the late Vallesium and the early Turolium . Hystrix sivalensis, found in Pakistan, lived in Asia at about the same time . Later came Hystrix refossa added in Europe, while in Asia Hystrix brachyura is about the same time occupied. In eastern and southern Africa, Hystrix has been found to be fossilized since the late Miocene ; in Algeria, finds have been made with an age of around 10 million years. Fossils of the genus Atherurus come from Egypt, Ethiopia and Kenya, they are dated to an age of about 11 million years. During the early Pliocene, Xenohystrix was also another genus of larger porcupines living in parts of East and South Africa.

As a precursor of hochkronigen Asian Hystrix TYPES the subgenus Acanthion is Hystrix gansuensis viewed from the late Miocene in China, as the European and Indian discoveries of the Miocene only had flat crowns. The family also includes the species Hystrix vinogradovi , which occurred in Europe in the Pleistocene , but is relatively rarely detected. It is probably a fossil subspecies of the short-tailed porcupine ( Hystrix brachyura ), which is widespread in South Asia today . The animals reached their northernmost distribution in the Urals and Altai . The find areas extend between the 50th and 59th parallel north and are thus between 950 and 2100 km north of today's limit of distribution. The porcupines appeared here mainly during the Eem warm period . Apparently, however, they also occurred here in the course of the Vistula Glaciation , since the most recent finds are between 41,000 and 32,000 years old, according to radiocarbon dating . Significant finds from Central Europe come from the travertine deposit of Burgtonna near Gotha and the Fuchsluken cave near Saalfeld (both Thuringia ), which are also north of the 50th parallel north. Possibly the presence of Hystrix in Pleistocene Europe west of the Caucasus and north of the 45th parallel was limited to the Eem warm period and the early Vistula glacial period (about 120,000 to 75,000 years ago), as ecological claims mean January temperatures above −5 ° C and snow-free and open biotopes accepted. The species of the subgenus Thecurus, which are endemic to Sumatra, Borneo and Palawan today, did not emerge from an ancestral species until the late Pleistocene, when Sundaland was separated, but this ancestor probably had its origin in a more northerly form in the Pliocene. The fossil form Hystrix lagrelli from northern and central China has skull features that indicate an intermediate position between Acanthion and Thecurus species.

Although several species have been found in fossil records for Europe, porcupines only live in Italy today. These are representatives of the common porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ), which can be found in large parts of Africa. A hypothesis that the animals in Italy are relic occurrences while the animals are extinct in the rest of Europe is now considered unlikely. It is more likely that the species was settled by soldiers for hunting in Sicily and Italy during the time of the Roman Empire . This hypothesis is supported by the lack of fossils of the species in Europe as well as by molecular biology data.

External system

Relationships within the hystricognathi according to Voloch et al. 2013 and Upham & Patterson 2015
  Ctenohystrica  

 Laotian rock rat ( Laonastes aenigmamus )


   

 Comb fingers or gundis (Ctenodactylidae)


  Hystricognathi  


 Porcupines (Hystricidae)


   
  Phiomorpha  

 Sand burrows (Bathyergidae), reed rats (Thryonomyidae) and rock rats ( Petromus typicus )


   

 Caviomorpha (species in South America)







The relationships between porcupines and other African rodent groups have been discussed controversially in the past. According to the current state of affairs, they are generally regarded as the basal group of the hystricognathi , a sub-order of rodents which, in addition to the porcupines from the Phiomorpha, were related to the sand graves (Bathyergidae), cane rats (Thryonomyidae) and the rock rat ( Petromus typicus ) and the South American guinea pigs (Caviomorpha) put together. The Kammfingers or Gundis (Ctenodactyla), with which the porcupines were grouped in the past to form the Ctenohystrica within the Phiomorpha, are considered to be the sister group of the Hystricognathi . The monophyly of the Ctenohystrica and the Phiomorpha with the porcupines and comb fingers is controversial and is considered obsolete according to current studies. The Laotian rock rat ( Laonastes aenigmamus ) in Southeast Asia, which was only discovered in 2005 and whose lineage separated from that of the Hystricognathi probably in the early Eocene , is regarded as a recent sister species of the entire group .

Internal system

Today the 11 most recently living species of porcupines are divided into three genera , which according to some sources are assigned to two subfamilies, the Hystricinae and the Atherurinae. This subdivision is rejected by other editors, as there are no specific features as autapomorphies for the subfamilies . On the basis of molecular biological investigations, the monophyly of the individual genera could be proven, but the brush- spiked ( Trichys ) probably represents the most basic group and the genera Hystrix and Atherurus are sister groups. As a result, the Atherurinae are paraphyletic, i.e. not a valid taxon .

African tassels ( Atherurus africanus ), specimen in the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium
South African porcupine ( Hystrix africaeaustralis )

Porcupine family (Hystricidae)

Sometimes the Hystrix sub-genera Thecurus and Acanthion are also considered to be separate genera, but this division is not shared by all reviewers . For Thecurus , an independent genus based on molecular biological investigations was rejected.

Taxonomy history

The porcupines were already described by Carl von Linné in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae .

The scientific classification of the porcupines goes back to the first description of the genus Hystrix within the rodents called Glires by Carl von Linné in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturæ 1758. The genus comprised five species in Linné: the common porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ), the Malay porcupine ( Hystrix brachyura ), the Asiatic tassel ( Atherurus macrourus as Hystrix macroura ), the North American Urson ( Erethizon dorsatum as Hystrix dorsata ) and the Brazilian cuandu ( Coendou prehensilis as Hystrix prehesilis ).

The two American species were assigned by Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte in 1845 to the own family of the tree prickers or New World porcupines (Erethizontidae), which are only relatively distantly related to the porcupines and are characterized by a convergent development of the spines. Within the porcupines, in addition to the genus Hystrix , which still includes the majority of species, the tassel prickles ( Atherurus ) were established by Frédéric Cuvier in 1829 and the brush prickles ( Trichys ) by Albert Günther in 1877 as separate genera.

Porcupines in culture

Porcupines as meat suppliers

Porcupines are used as meat suppliers and hunted in almost all regions in which they live. In parts of Asia and Africa, they are a popular source of meat and are hunted, sold and consumed as bushmeat . Hunting is legal for some species and has only a minor impact on populations , while for other species it is illegal and can endanger the population. This is the case, among other things, in the rainforest areas of Africa with the African tassel spike as well as with the Southeast Asian species. The African tassel spike is one of the most hunted and traded bushmeat species in West and Central Africa. In Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon and the Congo it is one of the most common species on the local bushmeat markets and in Equatorial Guinea, together with the blue duiker ( Philantomba monticola ), it represents more than half of all animals on offer. At the same time, the meat is one of the most popular and expensive on these markets.

  • The African tassel spike is offered as bushmeat in markets in Cameroon .

  • Preparation of the African tassel spike in Cameroon

  • African tassel prickly as bushmeat

In Vietnam, the Malay porcupine is partly farmed and propagated to reduce the cost of the meat and reduce the hunting pressure on the wild animals.

Porcupines in African culture

Probably the oldest evidence of porcupines in African culture and art comes from rock carvings by the San in the Matobo Mountains in Zimbabwe, some of which were painted up to 7000 years ago and have been designated as World Heritage by UNESCO . The drawings are kept in a red color style. In the belief of some local ethnic groups, the porcupines are considered to be herb traders because of their root-digging way of life.

The emblem of the Ashanti Empire: a red porcupine on a golden background

The porcupine was the national animal of the Ashanti in today's Ghana and at the same time, as a red porcupine on a golden background, was the motif of their emblem of the Ashanti Empire and its leader. It was used as such in 1701 by the founder of the empire and first Asantehene , Osei Tutu I , and was intended to symbolize the resistance of the Ashanti people to the enemies of the empire. In parallel with the symbol, the motto “Kum apem a, apem beba” (Kill a thousand, another thousand will come) was chosen. At the same time, the golden color symbolized the country's wealth.

Founded in 1954, National Liberation Movement of the Akan in Ghana attacked the symbol of the porcupine in their flag together with a cocoa tree on to once again demonstrate the valor of their own people.

In parts of Africa, porcupines and especially their quills are used in traditional medicine. In some areas of Nigeria, for example, the spines are used to open the wounds after snake bites and thus make them accessible for treatment with medicinal herbs. In the country's forest areas, porcupine intestines are used to treat abdominal pain, and in other parts of Nigeria, porcupines are sacrificed and the animals' intestines are used to call witches. With the Wimbum in Cameroon and parts of Nigeria, so-called "mcep" are part of folk medicine. These are fetish bags that contain porcupine quills, feathers and other materials and are used as protective fetishes. These mcep are placed in cavities in houses to protect the residents from witches and misfortune.


Porcupines in European culture

The first descriptions of the porcupine in Europe come from Aristotle in his Historia animalium (history of animals). The porcupine is already presented as a particularly dangerous animal by Aristotle, a representation that runs through all of ancient literature. In his Naturalis historia, Pliny the Elder was the first to mention the recurring story of all later authors that porcupines can hurl their quills at attackers like arrows. This incorrect attribution is often mentioned in connection with the hunt - or the specifically endangered hunting dogs - and persisted with later authors such as Claudius Aelianus , Oppian of Apamea and Timotheus of Gaza . Claudian's poem About the Porcupine ( De hystrice ) is based on this idea : "Without the need for someone else's rifle, everything carries it with you, / uses itself as a quiver and arrow, as a bow itself."

Porcupine and rhinoceros in the tomb of Marissa in present-day Israel
Porcupine in the triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch , painted around 1500
Porcupine hunt (illustration in the book Il milione about Marco Polo's travels , 1298–1299)

As exotic animals, porcupines found their way into art only occasionally. However, although known as hunting animals, they were likely not depicted in Roman art. Otto Keller mentions various occurrences of animals as a motif in several depictions from ancient Egypt in his depiction of The Ancient Animal World of 1909 and refers to a hunting scene from Thebes . He also mentions a naive drawing of the porcupine from the tomb of Marissa in today's Israel as well as hunting scenes in ancient vase painting and the use of the motif as a cohort symbol in the Roman army.

In the 15th century, the porcupine appeared as one of the animals depicted on the central panel in the triptych Der Garten der Earthes by Hieronymus Bosch . There is no explanation for the inclusion of the porcupine in the picture, but a reference to the biblical Psalm 103, verse 18 is made as a possible interpretation. This reads “Montes excelsi cervis petra refugium erinaciis” (German: “The rocks are a refuge for hedgehogs”), whereby “erinaciis” could also mean the porcupine. The interpretation is based on Notker latinus : “CHRISTVS is petra. he sî flees erinatiis. id es peccatoribus (Christ is the stone, he is the flight of erinacius, that is, the sinner). ”According to this interpretation,“ petra ”is Jesus Christ and the hedgehog is the“ sinful man who seeks refuge in Christ ”.

In 1394, Louis de Valois, duc d'Orléans , founded the Order of the Porcupine , a secular order of nobility and knighthood , in France for the birth of his son Charles de Valois, duc d'Orléans . With the motto of the order “Cominus et eminus” (roughly: “From near and far” or “hand-crafted as well as within shooting range”) the ability to defend itself should be demonstrated, since based on the traditions there was still the idea in France that the porcupine could get through its sting is not only protected in close combat, but can also shoot them. At the end of the 15th century, the son of Charles, who was named Louis XII. ascended the French throne, the porcupine became its heraldic animal and renewed the order. In this form, it adorns various buildings such as the Ludwig wing of Blois Castle , which he had built from 1498 to December 1501, among others as a relief . According to the motto, it also appears on cannons of the army of Louis XII. as well as on medals and paintings.

  • Porcupines on the tunic of the troops of King Ludwig XII. while riding to Genoa

  • Porcupine coat of arms on a bronze cannon of Louis XII.

  • Michel Colombe's medal with porcupine

As a result, the porcupine was also included as a heraldic element in several French family and community coats of arms:

Emblem Hystrix by Joachim Camerarius 1668
Porcupine , drawing by Jean-Baptiste Oudry , 1730s

Joachim Camerarius the Elder took over the porcupine and the crown with reference to the French king and the motto “Cominus et eminus” in his emblem collection Symbola et Emblemata in 1668 and signed the porcupine emblem

"Cominus ut pugnat jaculis, atque eminus histrix
Rex bonus esto armis consiliisque potens
Histrix"

- Camerarius , 1668

In his German adaptation of 1671 the epigram reads:

“In the vicinity and also from afar / Can I fight my enemy.
Just like the
stinging pig from close up and from afar / With its pointed arrows the enemy can be contested /
So should an upper lord with yard and good weapons /
scaffolding and be powerful to help the country. "

- Camerarius , 1671

Literally translated, the two-liner reads: As the porcupine fights with quills in close and long-range combat // so be a good king with weapons and clever considerations powerful.

A drawing by the painter Jean-Baptiste Oudry is known from the 1730s , who drew a porcupine with black and white chalk on cardboard. A more well-known occurrence of porcupines in modern times can be found in the parable The Porcupines by Arthur Schopenhauer in 1851, in which porcupines sought mutual closeness due to their need for warmth and at the same time are kept at a distance by the respective spines.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the German poet Christian Morgenstern created a humorous memorial to the porcupine in his gallows songs with the poem Die Hystrix . Here too, the idea that the porcupine can shoot with its quills plays a role.

In the 1920s, the writer and cabaret artist Hans Reimann published the magazine Das Stachelschwein . Referring to this magazine, the cabaret Die Stachelschweine was founded in Berlin in 1949 , with actors Rolf Ulrich , Alexander Welbat , Klaus Becker and Joachim Teege , among others .

Musically, the porcupine was immortalized in 1977 in a humorous song by Fredl Fesl .

Threat and protection

The Philippines porcupine ( Hystrix pumila ) is the only species of porcupine that is classified as threatened (vulnerable) by the IUCN

Most of the porcupine species are classified as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), only the Philippines porcupine ( Hystrix pumila ) is classified as “not endangered” due to the sharp decline in populations and habitat loss classified as threatened (vulnerable). The population sizes and population dynamics, as well as the way of life of all Southeast Asian species, are unknown and data are hardly available.

In some regions, the populations of the more widespread species are also endangered and in some regions they have been placed under protection. Domestic porcupines have been protected in Italy since 1978. However, due to the heavy hunt, the numbers of African tassels in some areas of West and Central Africa have also declined sharply, especially in Nigeria and neighboring regions.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystrix africaeaustralis. Mammalian Species 788, 2006; Pp. 1-7. ( Full text ; PDF, 374 kB)
  2. ↑ a b c d e Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 307. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 304. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 307. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 309. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l D.CD Happold: Family Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, p. 671; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
  7. ↑ a b Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 310. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  8. ↑ Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 311. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  9. ↑ Hesham M. Sallam, Erik R. Seiffert, Michael E. Steiper, Elwyn L. Simons: Fossil and molecular evidence constrain scenarios for the early evolutionary and biogeographic history of hystricognathous rodents . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 106, No. 39, September 29, 2009, pp. 16722-16727. doi : 10.1073 / pnas.0908702106 . PMID 19805363 .
  10. ↑ a b c d Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 313. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  11. ↑ a b c Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 315. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  12. ↑ a b c d e f Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 320. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  13. ↑ a b c Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 321. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  14. ↑ a b c Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 316. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  15. ↑ a b c Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 317. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  16. ↑ a b Atherurus africanus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017.2. Posted by: M. Hoffmann, N. Cox, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  17. ↑ a b Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 318. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  18. ↑ Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 314. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  19. ↑ a b c Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 319. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  20. ^ Antonio Felicioli, Antonella Grazzini, Luciano Santini: The mounting and copulation behavior of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata. Italian Journal of Zoology 64 (2), 1997; Pp. 155-161. doi : 10.1080 / 11250009709356189 .
  21. ^ Emiliano Mori, Ivan Maggini, Mattia Menchetti: When quills kill: the defense strategy of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata L., 1758. Mammalia 78 (2), 2014. doi : 10.1515 / mammalia-2013-0126 , full text .
  22. ^ Edwin H. Colbert: Two new rodents from the lower Siwalik beds in India. American Museum Novitates 633, June 10, 1933; Pp. 1-6. Full text .
  23. ^ A b c Pierre Mein, Martin Pickford: Vallesian rodents from Sheikh Abdallah, Western Desert, Egypt. Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology 22 (Nos. 1-3), 2010; Pp. 224-259, description of Atherurus ends in 250-251. doi : 10.1080 / 08912961003644104
  24. ↑ a b Ara Monadjem, Peter J. Taylor, Christiane Denys, Fenton PD Cotterill: Ctenohystrica diversification in Africa. In: Monadjem et al. (Ed.): Rodents of Sub-Saharan Africa: A biogeographic and taxonomic synthesis. Walter de Gruyter, 2015; Pp. 9-10.
  25. ^ DJ van Weers: A taxonomic revision of the Pleistocene Hystrix (Hystricidae, Rodentia) from Eurasia with notes on the evolution of the family. Contributions to Zoology 74 (3/4), 2005, pp. 301-312 ( [1] )
  26. ^ Yaroslav V. Kuzmin, Pavel A. Kosintsev, Sergei K. Vasiliev, Tatyana V. Fadeeva, Gregory WL Hodgins: The northernmost and latest occurrence of the fossil porcupine (Hystrix brachyura vinogradovi Argyropulo, 1941) in the Altai Mountains in the Late Pleistocene (about 32,000-41,000 cal BP). Quaternary Science Reviews 161, 2017, pp. 117-122.
  27. ↑ a b Lutz Maul: First evidence of Hystrix in the Pleistocene site of Burgtonna (Thuringia, Central Germany). Mammalian Science Information 3, 1994, pp. 673-682
  28. ↑ Cajus Godehard Diedrich: Late Pleistocene Hystrix (Acanthion) brachyura Linnaeus 1758 from the Fuchsluken Cave Near Saalfeld (Thuringia, Germany) - A Porcupine and Hyena Den and Contribution to their Palaeobiogeography in Europe. The Open Paleontology Journal 2, 2009 ( [2] )
  29. ^ Lutz Maul: Upper Pleistocene immigration from Hystrix to Central Europe. Annual meeting of the German Society for Mammalian Science, September 1994, Journal for Mammalian Science 4, 1995, p. 30
  30. ↑ Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 305. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  31. ↑ a b c Carolina M Voloch, Julio F Vilela, Leticia Loss-Oliveira, Carlos G Schrago: Phylogeny and chronology of the major lineages of New World hystricognath rodents: insights on the biogeography of the Eocene / Oligocene arrival of mammals in South America. BMC Research Notes 6, 2013; P. 160. doi : 10.1186 / 1756-0500-6-160 .
  32. ^ A b c Nathan S. Upham, Bruce D. Patterson: Evolution of the caviomorph rodents: a complete phylogeny and timetable of living genera. In: AI Vassallo, D. Antenucci: Biology of caviomorph rodents: diversity and evolution. SAREM Series A - Mammalogical Research Vol. 1, Buenos Aires 2015; Pp. 63-120. ( Full text on ResearchGate; accessed September 2, 2017 ).
  33. ↑ D. Huchon, EJ Douzery: From the Old World to the New World: a molecular chronicle of the phylogeny and biogeography of hystricognath rodents. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 20 (2), 2001; Pp. 238-251. doi : 10.1006 / mpev.2001.096 .
  34. ↑ a b J.J. Rovie-Ryan, FA Anwarali Khan, ZZ Zainuddin, AH Ahmad, M. Gani, AM Julaihi, S. Saaban: Molecular Phylogeny of the Old World Porcupines (Family Hystricidae) using Mitochondrial Cytochrome B Gene. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management 12 (1), June 2017; Pp. 1-11. ( Full text ).
  35. ^ Carl von Linné : Systema naturae. 10th edition, 1758; Volume 1, pp. 56-57 ( digitized version ).
  36. ↑ Michelle Schenck, Ernestine Nsame Effa, Malcolm Starkey, David Wilkie, Kate Abernethy, Paul Telfer, Ricardo Godoy, Adrian Treves: Why People Eat Bushmeat: Results From Two-Choice, Taste Tests in Gabon, Central Africa. Human Ecology, 2006. doi : 10.1007 / s10745-006-9025-1 , full text .
  37. ↑ Ferran Jori, Manel Lopez-Béjar, Patrick Houben: The biology and use of the African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus, Gray, 1842) as a food animal. A review. Biodiversity & Conservation 7 (11), 1998; Pp. 1417-1426. doi : 10.1023 / A: 1008853113835
  38. ↑ Emma GE Brooks, Scott I. Roberton, Diana J. Bell: The conservation impact of commercial wildlife farming of porcupines in Vietnam. Biological Conservation 143 (11) November 2010; Pp. 2808-2814. doi : 10.1016 / j.biocon.2010.07.030 .
  39. ↑ Rock paintings on the Trust for African Rock Art website; accessed on November 12, 2017.
  40. ↑ David Coulson, Alec Campbell: African rock pictures. Paintings and engravings on stone. Weingarten, 2001, pp. 1-256 (p. 94).
  41. ^ Jean Marie Allman: The Youngmen and the Porcupine: Class, Nationalism and Asante's Struggle for Self-Determination, 1954-57. Journal of African History 31, 1990; Pp. 263-279. ( Full text )
  42. ↑ Moses Olanre Adeola: Importance of Wild Animals and Their Parts in the Culture, Religious Festival, and Traditional Medicine, of Nigeria. Environmental Conservation 19 (2), 1992; Pp. 125-134. doi : 10.1017 / S0376892900030605 .
  43. ^ Robert Pool: On the creation and dissolution of ethnomedical systems in the medical ethnography of Africa. Cambridge Core 64 (1), 1994; Pp. 1-20. doi : 10.2307 / 116109 .
  44. ↑ Aristotle, Historia animalium 1,6; 6.30.
  45. ↑ a b August Steier : Porcupine . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III A, 2, Stuttgart 1929, Sp. 1927-1929.
  46. ^ A b Nicole Hochner: Louis XII and the porcupine: transformations of a royal emblem. Renaissance studies 15 (1), March 2001; Pp. 17-36. doi : 10.1111 / 1477-4658.00354 .
  47. ↑ Claudian, carmina minora 9, verses 1–48, here v. 41f., Here quoted from the translation by Georg von Wedekind, poems of Claudius Claudianus , Darmstadt 1868, p. 352f., Here p. 353.
  48. ↑ Otto Keller : The ancient animal world. Volume 1: Mammals. Published by Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1909. ( digitized version ).
  49. ↑ In the Vulgate . In the original Hebrew Psalm 104 , verse 18, the hyrax was originally meant.
  50. ^ Translation after Roger Bacon: Compendium for the Study of Philosophy. Meiner Verlag, 2015; P. 239, note 274. ( Google Books )
  51. ↑ Pigs in an interpretation by Hieronymus Bosch "The Garden of Earthly Delights" of a seminar in Older German Literature at the University of Bayreuth in the winter semester 2003/2004 and a second seminar in Older German Literature and Language at the Free University of Berlin in the winter semester 2012 / 2013; accessed on September 4, 2017.
  52. ↑ a b c Emblematics on the website of the Swiss Society for Symbol Research , last update March 17, 2017; accessed on September 18, 2017.
  53. ↑ a b Joachim Camerarius : Symbola et Emblemata: Cent. quatuor. II Moguntia, 1668; P. 168. ( digitized version ).
  54. ^ Christian Morgenstern: All gallows songs . 1st edition. Insel, Wiesbaden 1972, ISBN 3-458-31706-6 , p. 78 .
  55. ↑ Fredl Fesl - The porcupine. Retrieved September 21, 2018 .

literature

  • Erika L. Barthelmess: Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; Pp. 304-329. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4
  • DCD Happold: Family Hystricidae (Old Wold Porcupines). In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume III. Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, pp. 671-679; ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 .
  • Malcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level . Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-231-11013-8
  • Michael D. Carleton, Guy G. Musser: Order Rodentia . In: Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . 3rd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, pp. 745-1600, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD u. a. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .

Web links

Commons : Porcupines  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
This article was added to the list of excellent articles in this version on November 22, 2017 .