Indian crested porcupine
Indian crested porcupine | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Hystricidae |
Genus: | Hystrix |
Species: | H. indica
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Binomial name | |
Hystrix indica Kerr, 1792
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The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a
Description
The Indian crested porcupine is a large rodent, weighing 11–18 kg (24–40 lb).[2] The body (from nose to base of the tail) measures between 70 and 90 cm (28 and 35 in) with the tail adding an additional 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 in).[3] The lifespan of Indian crested porcupines in the wild is unknown, however, the oldest known Indian crested porcupine in captivity was female; and lived up to be 27.1 years old.[2]
It is covered in multiple layers of modified hair called quills, with longer, thinner quills covering a layer of shorter, thicker ones.[2] The quills are brown or black with alternating white and black bands.[4] They are made of keratin and are relatively flexible.[4] Each quill is connected to a muscle at its base, allowing the porcupine to raise its quills when it feels threatened.[4] The longest quills are located on the neck and shoulder, where the quills form a "skirt" around the animal.[4] These quills can grow up to 51 cm (20 in) long,[4] with most measuring between 15 and 30 cm (5.9 and 11.8 in).[5] Smaller (20 cm) and more rigid quills are packed densely on the back and rump.[4] These smaller quills are used to stab at potential threats.[4] The base of the tail contains shorter quills that appear white in color, with longer, hollow quills that the porcupine can rattle to produce a warning sound when threatened.[6] Contrary to popular belief, Indian crested porcupines (like all porcupines) cannot shoot their quills.[4]
The Indian crested porcupine has a stocky build with a low surface area to volume ratio, which aids in heat conservation.[7] It has broad feet with long claws used for burrowing.[2] Like all porcupines, the Indian crested porcupine has a good sense of smell and sharp, chisel-like incisors.[4]
Distribution and habitat
Indian crested porcupines are found throughout southwest and central Asia,[2] including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Yemen.[1] Due to their flexible environmental tolerances, Indian crested porcupines occupy a broad range of habitats.[1] They prefer rocky hillsides,[2] but are also common in tropical and temperate shrublands, grasslands, forests, plantations, and gardens.[1] Their range seems to be limited by seasonal densities of forage and the availability of suitable substrates for digging burrows.[8] More specifically, the northern range of the Indian crested porcupine is limited by minimum summer night duration: they do not occur above latitudes where minimum night duration is less than 7 hours, presumably because of the amount of foraging time required to meet their dietary needs.[9]
In 2018, a porcupine was spotted at Wadi Wurayah in the United Arab Emirates.[10][11] In 2019, it was spotted in the Russian republic of Dagestan.[12]
Diet
Indian crested porcupines have a very broad and mostly herbivorous diet.[2] They consume a variety of natural and agricultural plant material, including roots, bulbs, fruits, grains, drupe and tubers, along with insects and small vertebrates.[2][3][13][14] Because they are cecal digesters, they are able to exploit low quality forage.[15] They have also been known to chew on bones to acquire minerals, such as calcium, that aid in quill growth.[3][5] Their capability to form substantial fat reserves is a useful adaptation for living in seasonally fluctuating habitats.[7]
These porcupines can act as substantial habitat modifiers when excavating for tubers.[16][17] They are also considered serious agricultural pests in many parts of their range due to their taste for agricultural crops.[9][18] For these reasons, they are often regarded as a nuisance.[1]
Behaviour
Like other Old World porcupines, the Indian crested porcupine is nocturnal.[2] Both adults and weaned juveniles spend an average of 7 hours foraging every night.[9][19][20] They tend to avoid moonlight in the winter months, which could be a strategy to evade predation.[19] However, during summer months they do not avoid moonlight (likely because there are less dark hours during which to forage), but instead tend to stay closer to their dens.[19] During the day, they remain in their dens,[20][21] but throughout the winter, they occasionally emerge from their dens during daylight hours to bask in the sun.[7]
The Indian crested porcupine is semifossorial.[2] They live in natural caves or in excavated burrows.[20][21] Because they do not climb or jump well, they spend most of their lives on or under the ground.[4] However, they are good swimmers.[4]
Predators of the Indian crested porcupine include large cats,[22][23] caracals, wolves, striped hyenas, Asian wild dogs, Saltwater crocodiles[24] and humans.[19] When excited or scared, a porcupine stands its quills up to appear larger.[4] It can also rattle the hollow quills at the base of its tail, stomp its feet, growl, grunt, or charge backward into the threat.[4]
Reproduction
Indian crested porcupines mate in February and March..
Conservation
Due to its adaptability to a wide range of habitats and food types, the Indian crested porcupine is listed by the IUCN Red List as Least Concern as of 2008.[1][2] Populations are stable and not severely fragmented, and while population status varies across its range, in many places it is common enough to be considered a pest.[1] However, as a result of urbanization, infrastructure development, and pesticide use, suitable porcupine habitat is currently declining.[2]
The Indian crested porcupine is protected under the India Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, amended up to 2002.[2] Nonetheless, because it is destructive to gardens and agricultural crops, it is widely hunted.[5][27] It is traded for consumption and medicinal use.[2]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica) - Information on Indian Crested Porcupine - Encyclopedia of Life". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d Prater, Stanley Henry (1965). The Book of Indian Animals. Bombay: Diocesan Press.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Indian Crested Porcupine". San Diego Zoo. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d Gurung, K.K.; Singh, R. (1996). Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent. San Diego: Academic Press.
- ^ Ellerman, J.R. (1961). The Fauna of India. New Delhi: Manager of Publications.
- ^ JSTOR 1380887.
- ^ Gorbunov, A.V. (1985). "Features of the ecology of porcupines in the deserts of eastern Prikaspia". Soviet Journal of Ecology. 16: 248–253.
- ^ JSTOR 2845271.
- ^ Haza, Ruba (12 September 2018). "Species of porcupine seen for first time in the Fujairah". The National. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ De Leon, Janice Ponce (13 September 2018). "First confirmed sighting of Indian crested porcupine in UAE". Fujairah: Gulf News. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ "Индийского дикобраза обнаружили в горных районах Дагестана". 5 December 2019.
- S2CID 41549116.
- .
- JSTOR 3898379.
- S2CID 2152645.
- S2CID 37783090.
- )
- ^ JSTOR 1381749.
- ^ JSTOR 2403225.
- ^ a b Harrison, D.L. (1972). The Mammals of Arabia. Vol. 3. London: Ernest Benn.
- ^ Kingdon, J.S. (1974). East African Mammals. Vol. 2. London: Academic Press.
- ISBN 978-0395647806.
- ^ Samarasinghe, D. J. S.; Alwis, D. (2017). "Crocodylus porosus (Saltwater Crocodile) diet". Herpetological Review. 48 (3): 630–631.
- ^ PMID 4067934.
- ^ Z Server, Regular sex keeps porcupines faithful, New Scientist, Nov.12, 1988
- ISBN 9780896723641.