Nesokia indica, Kerr, 1792

Amr, Zuhair S., Abu, Mohammad A., Qumsiyeh, Mazin & Eid, Ehab, 2018, Systematics, distribution and ecological analysis of rodents in Jordan, Zootaxa 4397 (1), pp. 1-94 : 72-74

Hystrix indica Kerr, 1792

Common Name: Indian crested porcupine.

Diagnosis: Largest rodent in Jordan. Adult specimens can reach a length of up to 1 m. Body covered by long sharp spines, called quills. Fur color dark brown and blackish brown on the limbs ( Figure 83 ). Muzzle blunt, and covered with hair up to the lip. Eyes and ears small, ears round and covered by hair. Long and well-developed vibrissae. Tail short. Quills reach up to 400 mm in length on the posterior half of the back. They are creamy white and banded with black (tip creamy white). Quills on base of tail and tail are completely white. Forefeet with four digits, and a strong white claw; hind feet with five digits. Palms and soles are naked. Three pairs of mammae. Skull large and robust with small tympanic bullae. Infraorbital foramen very massive. Frontal region of skull very broad. Cheekteeth are strongly hypsodont and complexly folded with flat crowns ( Figure 84 ).

Localities: Previous records. 4 Km N ‘Aqrabā ( Amr et al., 1987), ‘Ayn Laḩz̧ah, Fuḥeiṣ, King Husayn Bridge, Wādī Fidān, Wādī Sha‘eb ( Amr & Disi, 1988), Ḑānā Biosphere Reserve (Yousef & Amr, 2005). New records. Birqish, Irbid, Jabal Masuda, Jāwá, Jordan Valley, Malka, Petra, Wādī ‘Araba, Wādī Al-Mujib, Wādī Salma ( Figure 85 ).

Habitat: The Indian crested porcupine favors rocky habitats with boulders and large and deep cervices. It lives in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from arid to humid Mediterranean. It shelters in wadis of rocky nature and may live in small caves or in constructed burrows. It feeds on 18 species of geophytes and hemicryptophytes ( Alkon, 1999), such as fleshy vegetation and bulbs such as Urginea maritima , which is common along relatively dry wadis and cliffs. They forage at night and can travel long distances away from their retreat. Hystrix indica is a generalist, adaptable animal with a wide range of distribution.

Biology: The Indian crested porcupine is a colonial animal. A female gives birth to 2–4 young, and she brings water in the hollow terminal spines to the young animals. Kingdon (1990) observed the courtship behavior of the porcupine, the female initiate courtship by moving closer towards the male in a proactive posture with the quills laid flat.

Remarks: This species is rather distributed in almost all types of biotopes in Jordan, except extreme open deserts. In Jordan, it was reported along the eastern mountains, the Jordan Valley, edges of the eastern desert and the rocky terrain of Wādī ‘Araba. The Karyotype for specimens from Turkey was 2n=66 and NF-116 with 3 metacentric, 8 acrocentric, 21 submetacentric and subtelocentric chromosome pairs (Arslan, 2006).

Figures

FIGURE 83. The Indian crested porcupine, Hystrix indica.

FIGURE 84. A. Dorsal,B. Ventral, C. Lateral views of the skull, and D. Upper maxillary teeth for Hystrix indica.

FIGURE 85. Distribution of the Indian crested porcupine, Hystrix indica.