Old World porcupine

English

An Old World porcupine (genus Atherurus, unidentified species)

Etymology

From Old World + porcupine.

Noun

Old World porcupine (plural Old World porcupines)

1. Any of the large, spiny-furred rodents of the family Hystricidae, native to the southern Eurasia and Africa.
   • 2008, Barbara A. Holzman, Tropical Forest Biomes‎^[1], page 115:

     Rodents are represented by four families: squirrels, Old World porcupines, mice and rats, and bamboo rats.

   • 2010, Peter S. Ungar, Mammal Teeth: Origin, Evolution, and Diversity‎^[2], page 211:

     Old World porcupines inhabit much of Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. Old World porcupines are also known to gnaw on bones (Bruno and Riccardi 1995; Nowak 1999; Smithers, Skinner, and Chimimba 2005; Barhelmess 2006; Arslan 2008).

   • 2011, Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Mammalogy, page 227:

     Erethizon characteristically takes shelter in rock piles, beneath overhanging rocks, or in hollow logs but (as other New World porcupines) does not dig burrows as do Old World porcupines.

Synonyms

• (any species of the family Hystricidae): hystricid

Coordinate terms

• New World porcupine

See also

• Old World porcupine on Wikipedia.Wikipedia