Long-tailed Porcupine

About the Long-tailed Porcupine

The long-tailed porcupine (Trichys fasciculata) is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It is the only species in the genus Trichys. It is a brown, rat-like animal covered in bristles except for its head and underneath its body. Its long tail can fall off when grabbed by predators, but does not regenerate.

Long-tailed porcupines' appearances are somewhat rat-like, commonly being black or brown in colour with a typically white underside. The short dark brown flattened spines with white base cover their entire body with bristle-like hair in between, except their head and underside, which are covered entirely with hair. Their spines are shorter than 5 cm (2.0 in), the shortest among the Old World porcupines. Long-tailed porcupines' tails are brown in colour and are mostly covered with scales. The tips of the tail, their rear and the hindquarters are covered in brush-like hollow quills which do not produce sound when shaken, unlike those of other porcupine species.

Their weight is usually around 1.7–2.3 kg (3.7–5.1 lb) but can be as small as 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and their length can be between 27.9 and 48 cm (11.0 and 18.9... Wikipedia →