Coendou

Coendou
Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology
(kn´d): see porcupine.
More on Coendou
Porcupine - member of either of two rodent families, characterized by having some of its hairs modified as bristles, spines, or quills.

Coendou prehensilis
The prehensile-tailed, or Brazilian, porcupine lives in forests in Venezuela, Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad, and extreme northern sections of Argentina. It is an herbivore.

Coendou prehensilis - Prehensile-tailed porcupine
Family Castoridae (Beavers)
Castor canadensis - American beaver ...

Coendou
Scientific Name:
Coendou prehensilis
Description
: The prehensile-tailed porcupine is covered in short, thick spines which are whitish or yellowish in color. These spines are intermixed with soft, darker hair.

Coendou prehensilis (Brazilian Porcupine)
Cricetus cricetus (European Hamster)
Dasyprocta leporina (Brazilian Agouti)
Erethizon dorsatum (North American Porcupine)
Glaucomys volans (Southern flying squirrel)
Hystrix cristata (Crested Porcupine) ...

Coendou has been known to take fruit and corn from plantations, and Erethizon has earned a bad reputation for killing timber and ornamental trees by stripping bark from the trunks of the trees.

All New World porcupines have long, curved claws that are excellent for climbing. The Coendou species of porcupines are equipped with prehensile tails that curl around branches, anchoring them to a tree.

Two species inhabit North America: the the Canadian porcupine ( erethizon dorsation ) and a Western species ( E.epixanthum ). In South America is the tree porcupines (coendou) having a long prehensile tail.

See also: Porcupine, Bear, Mongoose, Ruffe, North american porcupine