Porcupine

Porcupine (literally, "the spiny pig"), any individual of the Rodent family Hystricida?, in which the skin is set with long, strong spines. They fall into two groups: (1) New World Porcupines, for the most part arboreal, in which the tail is generally prehensile; (2) Old World Porcupines, in which the spines are more fully developed, and the tail is not prehensile. Hystrix cristata, the Common Porcupine, occurs in Southern Europe and North Africa. There are some other species. The Brushtailed Porcupines, with flattened spines at the end of the tail, constitute the genus Atherura.