Malayan Porcupine

About the Malayan Porcupine

The Malayan porcupine or Himalayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. Three subspecies are extant in South and Southeast Asia. The Malayan porcupine is a large and stout-bodied rodent covered with quills, which are sharp, rigid structures. The quills are modified hairs. Those on their upper body parts are rough with black with white or yellow stripes. The young's soft quills become hard as they enter adulthood. The porcupine has short, stocky legs covered in brown hairs; there are four claws on the front and five on the hind legs. Both front and hind paws have smooth soles. The head and body are around 56–74 cm long and the tail is about 6–11 cm. The animal weighs around 10–18 kg.

The Malayan porcupine ranges from Nepal through north-east India (Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland), to Bangladesh, central and southern China (Xizang, Hainan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Fujian, Jianxi, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu), throughout Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia... Wikipedia →