Did you Know? List of Facts about the Porcupine
Facts are statements which are held to be true and often contrasted with opinions and beliefs. Our unusual and interesting facts about the Porcupine, trivia and information, including some useful statistics about animals will fascinate everyone from kids and children to adults. Interesting Facts about the Porcupine are as follows: - Fact 1 - Definition: A porcupine is a large rodent with a coat of sharp spines or quills which are mingled with fur and stand straight up when it is attacked, like a Hedgehog. The common species of Europe and Asia (Hystrix cristata) is the best known and their spines, or quills, can grow to a foot long. The American species (Erethizon) and the Canada porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus) have shorter spines, and are arboreal in their habits
- Fact 2 - The porcupine raises its sharp quills when threatened
- Fact 3 - The word 'porcupine' means 'one who rises up in anger'.
- Fact 4 - The quills of baby porcupines are soft at birth but harden within an hour
- Fact 5 - The North American porcupines have long, shaggy, brown or black-haired coat, with short spines
- Fact 6 - The porcupine' spines or quills have tiny overlapping barbs, which are difficult to remove when embedded
- Fact 7 - The porcupine lives in burrows
- Fact 8 - Porcupine stats and facts
- Weight: 2.2 to 40 lbs
- Length: 25-36 inches
- Tail Length: 6-12 inches
- Habitat: Forests or brush-lands
- Lifespan: 18 years
- Diet: the Porcupine are herbivores eating mainly salt rich plants, tree leaves, grass and ferns.
- Fact 9 - The porcupine has the ability to swim as its quills are hollow and buoyant
- Fact 10 - The porcupine is also called the “quill pig”
- Fact 11 - Contrary to popular legend, the porcupine cannot shoot its quills
- Fact 12 - The male porcupine also helps the female in taking care of the young
- Fact 13 - Porcupines are covered with as many as 30,000 spiny quills
- Fact 14 - Porcupine quills are hollow and have spines on the end that make them hard to pull out
- Fact 15 - The collective name for a group is an Array
- Fact 16 - Males are called Boar
- Fact 17 - Females are called Sow
- Fact 18 - The names given to babies are Pup or piglet
- Fact 19 - Conservation Status - for more info click Endangered Species:
- The Thin-spined and the Phillipine Porcupine is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as 'vulnerable'
- Vulnerable - VU (Status: Threatened) - At risk because of their natural declining numbers are facing high-risk in their natural surroundings
- Other Porcupines have been evaluated and are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as 'Least Concern' and as such they do not qualify as Endangered, Threatened or Near Threatened species'
- Least Concern - LC (Status: At Lower Risk) - No immediate threat to the survival of the species.
Facts about the Porcupine - Scientific Names / Classification
Scientific Names / Classification of the Porcupine - The scientists who study animals (zoology) are called zoologists. Each animal that is studied is classified, that is, split into descriptive groups starting with main groups (vertebrates and invertebrates) the Families of animals are also included and the families are then split into species. These various scientific facts about the Porcupine are as follows: - Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Hystricomorpha
Infraorder: Hystricognathi
Family: Hystricidae
Species: Rodent
Facts about the Porcupine
We have included a selection of trivia and interesting facts about the Porcupine which we hope will be of help with homework. Most of these interesting facts about the Porcupine are quite amazing and some are little known pieces of trivia and facts! Many of these interesting pieces of animal information and fun facts about the Porcupine and info will help you increase your knowledge on the subject of animals and the Porcupine. |
