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"Porcupines"
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Feline Panleukopenia Virus in a Marsican Brown Bear and Crested Porcupine, Italy, 2022–2023
The virus species Protoparvovirus carnivoran 1 encompasses pathogens that infect both domestic and wild carnivores, including feline panleukopenia virus. We identified and characterized feline panleukopenia virus strains in a Marsican brown bear (Ursus arctos marsicanus) and a crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) in Italy, extending the known host range of this virus.
Journal Article
A prickle of porcupines
This book describes the physical characteristis, behavior, habitat, and group life of porcupines.
Book
Discovery of a new species of Coendou (Rodentia: Erethizontidae) within the hyper-diverse mammalian community of Sangay National Park in Ecuador
The tropical Andes harbor high levels of undocumented biodiversity, often hidden within complex ecological communities that require sustained sampling efforts to be fully characterized. Here, we describe a new species of porcupine of the genus
, discovered within the hyper-diverse mammalian assemblage of Sangay National Park (Sangay) in Ecuador. The description is based on an adult specimen collected at 2,400 m on the eastern slopes of the Andes. Phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial Cytochrome b (Cytb) place the new species as a distinct lineage within the Clade B (
(Voss, Hubbard & Jansa, 2013)), showing significant genetic divergence (p-distance > 6.0%) from its closest congeners,
and
. Morphologically,
sp. nov. is diagnosed by its medium body size, a remarkably short tail (approx. 26% of head-and-body length), tricolored bristle-quills with brownish-red tips, and distinct cranial features, including a long nasal bone and a mesopterygoid fossa that does not reach the second upper molar. This discovery is contextualized within a comprehensive mammalian inventory of Sangay, compiled over 15 years of fieldwork. Despite an intensive sampling effort totaling 12,800 trap-nights and 2,400 camera-trap days, only a single specimen was obtained, highlighting the species status as a rare, canopy-dwelling specialist. We report 170 mammal species within the park, including 18 endemic and 35 threatened taxa. With a richness of 0.03 species per km
, Sangay ranks as the most mammal-diverse protected area per unit area in the Tropics. Our results demonstrate that intensive, long-term inventories are essential for identifying cryptic arboreal lineages that remain \"invisible\" to traditional terrestrial sampling. Finally, we emphasize the urgent need for conservation policies, including the strengthening of biological corridors and the limitation on road and mining expansion, to safeguard this high-elevation biodiversity hotspot.
Journal Article
Porcupines
\"Vibrant photographs and carefully leveled text introduce emergent readers to the porcupine as it looks for food and defends itself against a predator. Includes picture glossary and index.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
A new species of Hystrix (Rodentia: Hystricidae) from the Pliocene site of Węże 1 in southern Poland
The specific name velunensis is established to encompass porcupine remains ( Hystrix Linnæus, 1758) recovered from the Pliocene site of Węże 1 in southern Poland. The studied specimen was previously assigned either to H. primigenia (Wagner, 1848) or H. depereti Sen, 2001, however it can be distinguished from these species and other fossil Hystricidae by its distinct occlusal morphology, most importantly the presence of an anterolingual flexus dissecting the anteroloph of P4. Hystrix velunensis sp. nov. was probably closely related to H. primigenia and H. depereti. A previously undescribed specimen from the nearby site of Węże 2 most probably belongs to H. refossa Gervais, 1852b, which would be the first known occurrence of this species in Poland.
Journal Article
An improve crested porcupine algorithm for UAV delivery path planning in challenging environments
With the rapid advancement of drone technology and the growing applications in the field of drone engineering, the demand for precise and efficient path planning in complex and dynamic environments has become increasingly important. Traditional algorithms struggle with complex terrain, obstacles, and weather changes, often falling into local optima. This study introduces an Improved Crown Porcupine Optimizer (ICPO) for drone path planning, which enables drones to better avoid obstacles, optimize flight paths, and reduce energy consumption. Inspired by porcupines' defense mechanisms, a visuo-auditory synergy perspective is adopted, improving early convergence by balancing visual and auditory defenses. The study also employs a good point set population initialization strategy to enhance diversity and eliminates the traditional population reduction mechanism. To avoid local optima in later stages, a novel periodic retreat strategy inspired by porcupines' precise defenses is introduced for better position updates. Analysis on the IEEE CEC2022 test set shows that ICPO almost reaches the optimal value, demonstrating robustness and stability. In complex mountainous terrain, ICPO achieved optimal values of 778.1775 and 954.0118; in urban terrain, 366.2789 and 910.1682 and ranked first among the compared algorithms, proving its effectiveness and reliability in drone delivery path planning. Looking ahead, the ICPO will provide greater efficiency and safety for drone path planning in navigating complex environments.
Journal Article
Quills : stories
\"The adventures of Quills, a funny, lazy porcupine who stumbles into fresh trouble every minute\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Microstructured barbs on the North American porcupine quill enable easy tissue penetration and difficult removal
North American porcupines are well known for their specialized hairs, or quills that feature microscopic backward-facing deployable barbs that are used in self-defense. Herein we show that the natural quill’s geometry enables easy penetration and high tissue adhesion where the barbs specifically contribute to adhesion and unexpectedly, dramatically reduce the force required to penetrate tissue. Reduced penetration force is achieved by topography that appears to create stress concentrations along regions of the quill where the cross sectional diameter grows rapidly, facilitating cutting of the tissue. Barbs located near the first geometrical transition zone exhibit the most substantial impact on minimizing the force required for penetration. Barbs at the tip of the quill independently exhibit the greatest impact on tissue adhesion force and the cooperation between barbs in the 0–2 mm and 2–4 mm regions appears critical to enhance tissue adhesion force. The dual functions of barbs were reproduced with replica molded synthetic polyurethane quills. These findings should serve as the basis for the development of bio-inspired devices such as tissue adhesives or needles, trocars, and vascular tunnelers where minimizing the penetration force is important to prevent collateral damage.
Journal Article