Erethizon dorsatum (Linnaeus, 1758) . Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1:57.

TYPE LOCALITY: E Canada (= Quebec Prov.) .

DISTRIBUTION: C Alaska (USA) to S Hudson Bay and Labrador (Canada), south to E Tennessee, C Iowa, and C Texas (USA), N Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Sonora (Mexico), and S California (USA).

STATUS: Common.

SYNONYMS: bruneri, couesi, doani, epixanthus, myops, nigrescens, picinum.

COMMENTS: Reviewed by Miller and Kellogg (1955:631), who restricted the type locality; also see Anderson and Rand (1943). Includes couesi; (see review by Woods, 1973, Mammalian Species, 29). There are six subspecies.