Erethizon
Temporal range: Late Pliocene - Recent
North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Erethizontidae
Subfamily: Erethizontinae
Genus: Erethizon
F. Cuvier, 1823
Type species
Erithrix dorsata[1]
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
  • Erethizon dorsatum
  • †Erethizon bathygnathum
  • †Erethizon cascoensis
  • †Erethizon kleini
  • †Erethizon poyeri

Erethizon is a genus of New World porcupine and the only one of its family to be found north of southern Mexico. The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is the only extant species, but at least 4 extinct relatives are known, the oldest dating to the Late Pliocene.[2] Porcupines entered North America during the Great American Interchange after the Isthmus of Panama rose 3 million years ago.[3]

References

  1. ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Hulbert, Richard C. (1997). "A new late Pliocene Porcupine (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) from Florida". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (3): 623–626. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10011010.
  3. ^ Bromley, D.; Osborne, T. (1994). "Porcupine: Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series". Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-10.


Categories