Prehensile Tailed Porcupine

“The Porcupine is a rodent quadruped. The North American porcupine is about two feet long, and of sluggish habits. The quills are short, and concealed among the fur, and the tail is short. The ‘tree porcupine’ of South America has a prehensile tail, about 10 inches long. The porcupine of Southern Europe and Africa is about 28 inches long, exclusive of the tail. The head, fore quarters, and under surface are clothed with short spines, intermixed with hairs, crest on head and neck, hind quarters covered with long sharp spines, ringed with black and white, and erectile at will. They are but loosely attached to the skin and readily fall out, a circumstance which probably gave rise to the belief that the animal was able to project them at an enemy."—(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

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