African brush-tailed porcupine
| African brush-tailed porcupine | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Hystricidae |
| Genus: | Atherurus |
| Species: | A. africanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Atherurus africanus Gray, 1842 | |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atherurus africanus. |
The African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) is a species of rat-like Old World porcupine, indigenous to a broad belt of Africa ranging from Guinea on the west coast to Kenya on the east.
Description
The brush-tailed porcupine reaches 40 to 50 centimeters in length, not counting the tail. The adult weighs about 3 kilograms. It has an elongated rat-like face and body and short legs, tipped with clawed and webbed feet. Unlike most other porcupines, the brush-tailed porcupine has lighter and smaller quills. On the tail, these quills are thinner and brush-like. These can make noise when rattled.[2]
Ecology
Brush-tailed porcupines live in small family groups of about eight members. Different family groups can share resources. When attacked by a predator, the porcupine raises its quills so it looks twice its size, rattles its tail quills, and stomps its feet. As with all porcupines, the brush-tailed porcupine backs into the attacker and inflicts damage with its quills.
Brush-tailed porcupines live in forests, usually at high elevations, and are nocturnal, sleeping in caves and burrows during the day. They are herbivorous. Male and female form a pair bond during breeding season. The female has a long pregnancy compared to other rodents: 110 days at the longest. The young are born well-developed or precocial. They are mature at about 2 years of age. The meat of the brush-tailed porcupine is popular and is consumed in large quantities.[2]
References
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Wikispecies has information related to: Atherurus africanus |
- ↑ Hoffmann, M. & Cox, N. (2008). "Atherurus africanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- 1 2 Jori, F.; Lopez-Béjar, M.; Houben, P. (1998). "The biology and use of the African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus, Gray, 1842) as a food animal. A review.". Biodiversity and Conservation 7 (11): 1417–26. doi:10.1023/A:1008853113835.
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