MLive: Dog found with muzzle ‘tightly taped shut,’ porcupine quills in chin, leg
ROSCOMMON, MI – A dog was found wandering alone with her muzzle “tightly taped shut” and porcupine quills embedded in her chin and leg last week. The female rottweiler was picked up by Roscommon ...
Dog found with muzzle ‘tightly taped shut,’ porcupine quills in chin, leg
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predators. The term covers two families of animals, the Old World porcupines in the family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines in the family Erethizontidae.
Porcupine, any of several species of large, herbivorous, quill-bearing rodents active from early evening to dawn. All have short stocky legs, but their tails range from short to long, some being prehensile.
Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) are the third largest members of the rodent family that are covered with spines or quills. The name ‘porcupine’ comes from Middle French ‘porc d’épine’ meaning ‘thorny pig’. There are, in total, 27 species of porcupine belonging to the families, Erethizontidae or Hystricidae.
Porcupines are rodents, but very different from one another. The two families are not even closely related; the Rodentia order is exceptionally diverse, and despite looking similar, new and old-world quill pigs actually evolved their quills independently, through a process of convergent evolution.
The porcupine, a creature synonymous with its formidable coat of quills, is far more than just a prickly enigma. These fascinating rodents, found across diverse landscapes from dense forests to arid deserts, embody a remarkable story of adaptation, survival, and ecological significance.