North African Crested Porcupine
Hystrix Cristata
Physical Descriptions
Levels of Classification
- Domain Eukarya- In this domain, all cells are either multicellular or unicellular. Each cell has a nucleus.
- Kingdom Animalia- All animals from the Kingdom Animalia are multicellular, heterotrophs, have no cell walls, and they digest food in an internal cavity.
- Phylum Chordata- The animal has bilateral symmetry, a segmented body, a tail projecting beyond the anus at some point, a complete digestive system, and a bony or cartilaginous endoskeleton usually present.
- Subphylum Vertebrata- Vertebrates all have a vertebral column, or a chain of bony elements that run along the back surface from head to tail that form the main skeletal axis from the body. They all have a digestive system with large digestive glands, liver, and pancreas, their movements come from the muscles attached to the endoskeleton, and their ventral heart has 2-4 chambers.
- Class Mammalia- Animals in this category have hair at some point in their lives, but most have hair their entire lives, the animals are usually characterized by their teeth.
- Order Rodentia- The teeth of animals in Order Rodentia are highly specialized for gnawing, have a single pair of upper and lower incisors. There is never more than 1 incisor in each quardrent, or any canines. The animals' clavicles are usually present, and their feet have 5 toes.
- Family Hystricidae- These large, heavy-set, slow moving animals are found in Africa and Asia. These Old World Porcupines rely on their impressive quills for defense instead of on speed or agility. the heads are massive and broad, the ears and the eyes are typically pretty small, the claws are always short, the tail varies in size- some tails may be very short or they can reach around half of the head to body length.
- Genus Hytrix- The genus Hystrix is only made up of the crested porcupines.
Map
Quills
Hystrix cristata
Other Names
Predators and Diet
Habitat
Behavioral Adaptations
Physical Adaptations
References
African Crested Porcupine. (n.d.). Retrieved from Woburn Safari Park website: http://www.woburnsafari.co.uk/discover/meet-the-animals/mammals/african-crested-porcupine/
African Crested Porcupine. (n.d.). Retrieved from Rainforest Adventures Discovery Zoo website: http://www.rfadventures.com/african_crested_porcupine.htm
Burton, M. (2002). Crested porupine. In International wildlife encyclopedia (3rd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 595-597). New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish.
Discover life: Point map of Hystrix cristata [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://eol.org/pages/326521/maps
McPhee, M. 2003. “Hystrix cristata” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 11, 2015 at http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hystrix_cristata/
Porcupine. (n.d.). Retrieved from San Diego Zoo website: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/porcupine
Porcupine. (n.d.). Retrieved from African Wildlife Foundation website: http://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/porcupine