Summary ⁴

The Common Porcupine, (Erethizon dorsatum) also known as the North American Porcupine, is a large rodent found in many parts of North America including Iron County, UT. It is the only species of porcupine native to the United States. Porcupines are unique from other mammals in that they have sharp barbed spines called quills covering much of their body. The metacarpal pads of a porcupine's foot are fused and form a palm with a unique pebbly surface. The digital pads of the foot rarely appear in tracks. Tracks will display the distinct pebbly texture and have prominent nail marks some distance from the palm (Photo 2). Scat is irregular in shape with a diameter of 1/4 to 1/2 in. and a length of 1/2 to 1 1/4 in. (Photo 3).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Danny Barron, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/56398280@N00/2753273158
2. (c) Tatiana Gettelman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/tatiana-gettelman/10124391494/
3. (c) chey295, all rights reserved
4. Adapted by chey295 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erethizon_dorsatum

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• ASM Mammal Diversity Database
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• iNaturalist Mammal Working Group
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet

Range Map

(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

iNat Map