Ajay Kumar at 21:04, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T21:04:44Z

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{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}}{{Speciesbox
| name = Malayan porcupine
| image = Hystrix brachyura, Malayan porcupine.jpg
| image_caption = ''Hystrix brachyura'', Malayan porcupine - [[Kaeng Krachan National Park]], [[Thailand]]
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Hystrix brachyura'' |author=Lunde, D. |author2=Aplin, K. |author3=Molur, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |errata=2017 |page=e.T10749A115099298 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T10749A22232129.en |access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref>
| genus = Hystrix
| species = brachyura
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision =
''H. b. brachyura'' 
''H. b. subcristata'' 
''H. b. hodgsoni'' 
''H. b. punungensis'' (extinct)<ref>Weers, D.J. van. (2003) The porcupine Hystrix (Acanthion) brachyura punungensis subsp. nov. from Late Pleistocene fissure deposits near Punung, Java. [[Scripta Geologica]], 126: 217-225 [http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/46244 PDF]</ref> 
''H. b. yunnanensis'' Anderson, 1878 
''H. b. bengalensis'' Blyth, 1851<ref>{{cite journal |author=Van Weers, D.J. |year=2005 |title=A taxonomic revision of the Pleistocene ''Hystrix'' (Hystricidae, Rodentia) from Eurasia with notes on the evolution of the family |journal=[[Contributions to Zoology]] |volume=74 |issue=3/4 |url=http://dpc.uba.uva.nl/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ctz;cc=ctz;rgn=main;view=text;idno=m7403a07}}</ref>
| synonyms =
| range_map = Hystrix brachyura distribution map.png
| range_map_caption =
}}

The '''Malayan porcupine''' or '''Himalayan porcupine''' ('''''Hystrix brachyura''''') is a species of [[rodent]] in the family [[Hystricidae]].<ref name = MSW3>{{MSW3 Hystricognathi | id = 13400053 | page = }}</ref> Three subspecies are extant in [[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]].

==Geographical distribution==
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]] and [[Vietnam]], through [[Peninsular Malaysia]], to [[Singapore]], [[Sumatra]] ([[Indonesia]]) and throughout [[Borneo]] ([[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Sarawak]]<ref>Azlan J, M & Engkamat, L (2006) Camera trapping and conservation in Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak. ''The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology''54(2) pp. 469-475 [http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/54/54rbz469-475.pdf PDF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724231849/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/54/54rbz469-475.pdf |date=2008-07-24 }}</ref> and [[Brunei]]). It is also present on the island of [[Penang]], Malaysia. It can be found from sea level to at least 1,300 m asl.<ref name = iucn />


==Evolution==
This species and their close relatives are believed, based on their current distribution, to have originated in southern Asia. They likely have a common ancestor from the [[Late Pleistocene]] when Sumatra, Borneo, and Palawan were part of [[Sundaland]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

==Habitat and ecology==
Malayan porcupines are terrestrial and usually to be found in small groups in various types of forest habitats, as well as open areas near forests: they may also stray into nearby [[agriculture|agricultural]] areas. They often inhabit dens they have found near rocky areas or in the holes of trees or root systems. They may also dig out and live in burrows, from which a network of trails penetrate into surrounding habitat. They can be found in all forest types up to 1500 m altitude.<ref name=Parr>Parr J W.K, (2003).East Asian Porcupine Hystrix Brachyura: From Systematic, A Guide to the Large Mammals of Thailand (144).Bangkok: Sarakadee Press</ref>

Female porcupines have a gestation period of 110 days and a litter size of two or three. The species may give birth to two litters annually.<ref name = iucn />

==Characteristics==
It is a large and stout-bodied rodent covered with quills which are sharp, rigid structures. The quills are modified hair.<ref name=Parr /> 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. They have short, stocky legs covered in brown hairs which have four claws on the front and five on the hind legs. Both front and hind legs have smooth soles.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} The head and body measurement are around 56-74 cm and the tail is about 6–11 cm. They weigh around 10 kg-18 kg.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Andrew |last2=Xie |first2=Yan |title=A Guide to the Mammals of China |date=2010 |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=165}}</ref>

==Diet==
They normally feed on roots, tubers, bark and fallen fruits. They also eat [[carrion]], insects, and large tropical seeds such as belonging to ''[[Chisocheton cumingianus]]''.

==Behaviour==
''H. brachyura'' [[nocturnal|forages]] at night and rests during the day. It may be found singly or in pairs. It can also swim and gnaw. The sow usually delivers a single [[Names given to animals young|pup]] at a time, but delivering two pups has also been recorded. The [[gestation period]] is about 90 to 112 days. Their maximum longevity is about 27 years.

==Conservation and economic importance==
IUCN has categorized this species as [[Least Concern]]. The quills of the Malayan porcupine are used for ornamental purposes.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Porcupines are also hunted for meat and traditional medicines.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

==Gallery==
[[File:Himlayan crestless porcupine.jpg|thumb|Two Himalayan crestless porcupines in a seed plot in Arunachal Pradesh, India]]
<gallery>
File:Malayan porcupine, Hystrix brachyura - Kaeng Krachan National Park.webm|Malayan porcupine - [[Kaeng Krachan National Park]], [[Thailand]]
Image:Hystrix brachyura.JPG|Himalayan crestless porcupine ''H. b. hodgsoni'' from India
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* I Dahlan,AA Salam,BS Amin,A Osman. (1995). Preference and Intake of Feedstuff by Crested Porcupines(Hystrix Brachyura) in Captivity. Ann Zootech 44, 271.
* Vaughan, T. A. (1985). Family Hystricidae. In T. A. Vaughan, Mammalogy Third Edition (pp. 266–267). Arizona: Saunders College Publishing.

{{Hystricidae nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q549826}}

[[Category:Hystrix (mammal)]]
[[Category:Rodents of India]]
[[Category:Rodents of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Rodents of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Borneo]]
[[Category:Rodents of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Rodents of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Rodents of Thailand]]
[[Category:Rodents of Laos]]
[[Category:Rodents of Cambodia]]
[[Category:Rodents of Vietnam]]
[[Category:Mammals of Brunei]]
[[Category:Rodents of Singapore]]
[[Category:Rodents of China]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]
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[[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]

Malayan porcupine - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 21:04, 30 August 2023