HK Biodiversity Database

General Information

Hystrix brachyura
East Asian Porcupine

Animal Group:

Mammal

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Mammalia

Order:

Rodentia

Family:

Hystricidae

Other Common Name(s):

Malayan Porcupine , Chinese Porcupine , Short-tailed Porcupine

Description:

A large rodent with black and white quills; the pelage is brown to dark brown; the front part of body is covered with short, dark brown spines (30-50 mm long), while the hindquarters have hollow, long, pointed rattling quills (200-230 mm long) which are conspicuously marked with black and white bands; a short whitish crest is present on the neck and upper back; the tail is short, usually less than one-fifth of the head-to-body length, covered with several short, apparently white quills, mixed with large and well developed rattling quills; rattling quills are slender with a thicker terminal; they are hollow and thin-walled in the expanded portion, and produce a hisslike rattle when several quills vibrate together.

Statutory Protection in Hong Kong
Listed in Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170)
AFCD Assessment
Very Common
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Status
Least Concern
Fellowes et al. (2002)
Potential Global Concern

Hong Kong Biodiversity Database

Hong Kong Biodiversity Database