Erethizontidae

Belongs within: Caviomorpha.

The Erethizontidae includes the New World porcupines, a group of large spiny rodents that are not directly related to the Old World porcupines of the Hystricidae. Erethizontid porcupines differ from hystricids in being semi-arboreal rather than terrestrial, and having quills arranged singly rather than in clusters as in Hystricidae. The majority of species are found in South and Central America, with the North American porcupine Erethizon dorsatum being found in Canada and the United States. Members of the genera Coendou and Sphiggurus have hairless, prehensile tails that aid them in climbing.

Characters (from Nowak 1999): Heavyset, relatively large rodents. Head and body length 300-860 mm, tail length 75-150 mm. Some of the hairs modified into short, sharp spines with overlapping barbs. Quills are embedded singly in the skin musculature. Pelage is marked with blackish to brownish, yellowish, or whitish bands. Foot modified for arboreal life: sole widened, first digit of hind foot sometimes replaced by a broad, movable band. Functional digits with strong curved claws. Limbs fairly short. Tail relatively short in Echinoprocta and Erethizon but long and prehensile in Coendou. Axis and third cervical vertebra fused in Erethizon and Coendou. Dental formula (i 1/1, c 0/0, pm 1/1, m3/3) × 2 = 20. Cheek teeth rooted, with reentrant folds.

<==Erethizontidae [Erethizontinae, Erethizontoidea, Erethizontomorpha]
    |  i. s.: Eopululo wigmoreiMJ11
    |         Protosteriomys Wood & Patterson 1959SM93
    |--+--Echinoprocta rufescensFS15
    |  `--ErethizonFS15
    |       |--E. dorsatum (Linnaeus 1758) [=Hystrix dorsata]B75
    |       `--E. epixanthumB74
    `--+--SphiggurusFS15
       |    |  i. s.: S. pallidusFS01
       |    |--S. mexicanusFS15
       |    |--S. spinosusFS15
       |    |--S. villosusFS15
       |    |--+--S. pruinosusFS15
       |    |  `--S. vestitusFS15
       |    `--+--+--S. ichillusFS15
       |       |  `--S. melanurusFS15
       |       `--+--S. insidiosusFS15
       |          `--S. roosmalenorumFS15
       `--CoendouFS15
            |--C. bicolorGA90
            |    |--C. b. bicolorGA90
            |    `--C. b. simonsiGA90
            |--C. ichillus Voss & da Silva 2001N10
            |--C. koopmani Handley et al. 1992N10
            |--C. mexicanusGA90
            |--C. nycthemeraFS15
            |--C. prehensilisGA90
            |--C. quichuaFS15
            |--C. roosmalenorum Voss & da Silva 2001N10
            |--C. rothschildiIT07
            `--C. sanctamartaeFS15

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[B75] Bowles, J. B. 1975. Distribution and biogeography of mammals of Iowa. Special Publications, The Museum, Texas Tech University 9: 1–184.

[B74] Bugge, J. 1974. The cephalic arterial system in insectivores, primates, rodents and lagomorphs, with special reference to the systematic classification. Acta Anatomica 87 (Suppl 62): 1–160.

[FS15] Faurby, S., & J.-C. Svenning. 2015. A species-level phylogeny of all extant and late Quaternary extinct mammals using a novel heuristic-hierarchical Bayesian approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 14–26.

[FS01] Flannery, T., & P. Schouten. 2001. A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World’s Extinct Animals. Text Publishing: Melbourne.

[GA90] Glanz, W. E., & S. Anderson. 1990. Notes on Bolivian mammals. 7. A new species of Abrocoma (Rodentia) and relationships of the Abrocomidae. American Museum Novitates 2991: 1–32.

[IT07] Isaac, N. J. B., S. T. Turvey, B. Collen, C. Waterman & J. E. M. Baillie. 2007. Mammals on the EDGE: conservation priorities based on threat and phylogeny. PloS One 2 (3): e296.

[MJ11] Meredith, R. W., J. E. Janečka, J. Gatesy, O. A. Ryder, C. A. Fisher, E. C. Teeling, A. Goodbla, E. Eizirik, T. L. L. Simão, T. Stadler, D. L. Rabosky, R. L. Honeycutt, J. J. Flynn, C. M. Ingram, C. Steiner, T. L. Williams, T. J. Robinson, A. Burk-Herrick, M. Westerman, N. A. Ayoub, M. S. Springer & W. J. Murphy. 2011. Impacts of the Cretaceous terrestrial revolution and KPg extinction on mammal diversification. Science 334: 521–524.

[N10] Naish, D. 2010. Tetrapod Zoology: Book One. CFZ Press: Bideford (UK).

Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker’s Mammals of the World 6^th ed. vol 2. John Hopkins University Press.

[SM93] Stucky, R. K., & M. C. McKenna. 1993. Mammalia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 739–771. Chapman & Hall: London.