Erethizon

Erethizon; Temporal range: Late Pliocene - Recent
	North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Erethizontidae
Subfamily:	Erethizontinae
Genus:	Erethizon; F. Cuvier, 1823
Type species
	Hystrix dorsata; Linnaeus, 1758
Species
	Erethizon dorsatum; †Erethizon bathygnathum; †Erethizon cascoensis; †Erethizon kleini; †Erethizon poyeri;

Erethizon is a genus of New World porcupine and the only one of its family to be found north of southern Mexico. The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is the only extant species, but at least 4 extinct relatives are known, the oldest dating to the Late Pliocene.^[2] Porcupines entered North America during the Great American Interchange after the Isthmus of Panama rose 3 million years ago.^[3] Early species of the genus retained an elongate tail, unlike E. dorsatum.^[4]

References

^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^ Hulbert, Richard C. (1997). "A new late Pliocene Porcupine (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) from Florida". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (3): 623–626. Bibcode:1997JVPal..17..623H. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10011010.
^ Bromley, D.; Osborne, T. (1994). "Porcupine: Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series". Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
^ Vitek, Natasha S.; Hoeflich, Jennifer C.; Magallanes, Isaac; Moran, Sean M.; Narducci, Rachel E.; Perez, Victor J.; Pirlo, Jeanette; Riegler, Mitchell S.; Selba, Molly C.; Vallejo-Pareja, María C.; Ziegler, Michael J.; Granatosky, Michael C.; Hulbert, Richard C.; Bloch, Jonathan I. (June 2024). "An extinct north American porcupine with a South American tail". Current Biology. 34 (12): 2712–2718.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.069. PMID 38806055.

[1] Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.

[2] Hulbert, Richard C. (1997). "A new late Pliocene Porcupine (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) from Florida". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (3): 623–626. Bibcode:1997JVPal..17..623H. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10011010.

[ADF&G-3] Bromley, D.; Osborne, T. (1994). "Porcupine: Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series". Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-10.

[4] Vitek, Natasha S.; Hoeflich, Jennifer C.; Magallanes, Isaac; Moran, Sean M.; Narducci, Rachel E.; Perez, Victor J.; Pirlo, Jeanette; Riegler, Mitchell S.; Selba, Molly C.; Vallejo-Pareja, María C.; Ziegler, Michael J.; Granatosky, Michael C.; Hulbert, Richard C.; Bloch, Jonathan I. (June 2024). "An extinct north American porcupine with a South American tail". Current Biology. 34 (12): 2712–2718.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.069. PMID 38806055.

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