Hystrix africaeaustralis, Peters, 1852
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https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6612213 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6615334 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A91B1C-C157-4A67-C974-FA6B9B78690B |
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Carolina |
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Hystrix africaeaustralis |
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10. View Plate 18: Hystricidae
Cape Porcupine
Hystrix africaeaustralis View in CoL
French: Porc-épic du Cap / German: Stidafrikanisches Stachelschwein / Spanish: Puercoespin de El Cabo
Other common names: CapeCrested Porcupine, South African Porcupine, Southern African Porcupine
Taxonomy. Hystrix africaeaustralis Peters, 1852 View in CoL ,
“Querimba” and “Tette.” Restricted by R. E. Moreau and colleagues in 1946 to Querimba coast (ca. 10° 30’ to 12° 00’S, 40° 30’E, sea level) Mozambique.
Hystrix africaeaustralis is in the subgenus Hystrix . It is sympatric with the similar H. cristata , in parts of southern Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Up to three subspecies have been identified, but none was recognized by J. A. J. Meester in 1986 or D. C. D. Happold in 2013. Monotypic.
Distribution. S one-half of Africa, from S of the Republic of the Congo and S DR Congo E to S Uganda, SW Kenya, and Tanzania (not in Zanzibar I), and S to South Africa, excluding Namibian coast. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 630-805 mm, tail 105-130 mm, ear 39-48 mm, hindfoot 89-114 mm; weight 10-24.1 kg. The Cape Porcupine and the similarly sized Crested Porcupine ( H. cristata ) are the largest rodents in Africa. The Cape Porcupine is stout, heavily built, and well-bristled, with relatively short legs and short, well-hidden tail. There is no sexual dimorphism. Quills of several types on the Cape Porcupine are most notable. True quills are defensive quills; they are the thickest of modified hairs, circular in cross section, long (up to 300 mm) with very sharp points, and relatively inflexible. Their diameters are greatest at mid-lengths of quills and taper toward both ends. True quills carry microstructural “feathering” along tips, analogous to barbed quills seen in the North American Porcupine ( Erethizon dorsatum), which may aid in reducing force required to allow muscle penetration by quills. Tactile bristles, also circular in cross section, are very flexible. Their diameters are greatest near bases and smaller than diameters of defensive quills. Transitional quills are intermediate between true quills and tactile bristles in length, diameter, and flexibility. Spines are long (up to 500 mm), sharp,stiff, flattened, and grooved bristly hairs that cover most of the body. Rattle-quills, located only on tail, are circular in cross section, hollow, capsule shaped, and open at ends. They attach to tail by stalks at bases of quills. Spines and quills are distributed across posterior two-thirds of dorsum and flanks but not on ventrum. Quills along dorsum are banded black and white; black bands are broader with white tips. Longer quills have multiple repeating bands of black and white, with up to six white sections per quill. There is an erectile crest of coarse hairs, up to 500 mm in length, occurring posteriorly from top of head to top of shoulders. Hairs at front of crest are black at bases with white tips. Some Cape Porcupines have triangular patches of white bristles (flattened hair) on either side of neck. Head is rounded, with grayish brown, bristled face and stout, movable vibrissae. Small eyes are situated far back on head, and ears are inconspicuous and humanlike in shape. Nasal bones are 51-58% of occipito-nasal length, wide, and posteriorly extended almost to anterior ends of orbits. Frontal-to-nasal bone ratio is 49-68%. Upper incisors are smooth, and folds of enamel and dentine characterize cheekteeth. Rump is covered with short, flat, white bristles on dorsal and ventral sides. Shorttail is covered with short quills, mostly invisible beneath defensive quills on lower back and has rattle-quills that rattle when tail is shaken. There are 4-6 mammae. In the field, it is difficult to distinguish Cape Porcupines from Crested Porcupines; short quills on lower rump of the Cape Porcupine are white, but they are black on the Crested Porcupine. Skull differences are clear and well described by van Weers.
Habitat. [.owland and montane tropical forests, savanna grassland, brushland, Acacia and Brachystegia (miombo) woodlands, and semiarid deserts, with broad daily and seasonal temperature changes, from sea level to elevations of ¢.2000 m. In South Africa, Cape Porcupines prefer Burkea—Acacia savanna, probably due to concentration of preferred foods. They are not found in swampy areas.
Food and Feeding. The Cape Porcupine is omnivorous and eats subterranean tubers, bulbs, and roots; shoots; fruits; and stems. Osteophagy is common, particularly in phosphorous-limited areas. It might eat carrion. It is considered a pest by farmers; it will raid melon, pumpkin, and maize crops; uproot young trees; and damage young plantations by debarking and feeding on innerliving tissue of trees from ground level to c.0-5 m up the trunk. Cape Porcupines are ecosystem engineers because their foraging has landscape-level effects through food choice and physical effects of digging. Selective bark feeding in some natural savanna ecosystems may influence patterns of succession. Cape Porcupines dig circular, conical holes in the soil surface in search of tubers, insect larvae, and seeds, which creates sites for seedlings and allows water to infiltrate the soil crust. Digging by Cape Porcupines annually disturbs 0-34% ofthe soil surface and displace 1-6 m®/ha/year ofsoil acrossits distribution.
Breeding. The Cape Porcupine,like the Crested Porcupine and the Indian Crested Porcupine ( H. indica ), is monogamous. Sexual maturity is reached at 8-18 months of age for males and in the second year oflife for females. Males and females are reproductive throughout the year. In both captive and wild individuals in South Africa, most litters are born in August-March, corresponding to periods of summer rain; this timing probably maximizes neonatal survival, especially in arid regions that experience cold, dry winters. Females are polyestrous, with cycle lengths of 17-42 days. Sexual activity (lordosis, mounting, and ejaculation) occurs throughout estrus, pregnancy, and lactation, but actual copulation outside of estrus is hindered by presence of a vaginal closure membrane. This physical contact between sexes maintains cyclic ovarian activity and may strengthen pair bonds. Estrus begins when vaginal membrane opens, coinciding with a surge in 17B-estradiol. Copulation is typically preceded by the female approaching the male and occurs ¢.2-8 days after onset of estrus. The female adopts a receptive posture, with tail and rump raised and quills pointed away from the male. He mounts the female from behind, with his forepaws resting on her back. Intromission only occurs when the female is in estrus. After mating, a copulatory plug is formed. Gestation lasts 93-105 days, and females average onelitter per year, with 1-3 precocial young; 59% oflitters produce singletons and 30% twins. Newborns weigh 300-400 g and have soft defensive quills and closed, pointed rattle-quills at birth. Young nibble on solid foods by 9-14 days of age and begin to feed alone at 4-6 weeks of age, although they continue to nurse for 13-19 weeks when they weigh 2.5-4.7 kg. Lactation averages 101 days and includes c.110 days of anestrus during lactation. The father provides paternal care by accompanying young on foraging trips, grooming and huddling with them, and protecting them from threats. Although Cape Porcupines live in family groups, only the adult pair reproduces. Females are almost continuously exposed to sexually mature males. Subordinate females experience cyclic ovarian activity, but only the dominant female conceives. Mechanism of reproductive suppression of subordinate females is unknown, but progesterone concentrations, despite cyclic changes, remain insufficient for implantation. Social factors may impact ovarian function. Females separated from males in captivity experience impairment of ovarian function. Physical contact with males may be required to sustain regular follicular and luteal activities of females. Densities might influence whether or not females reproduce during their first year. Conception in sexually mature females is suppressed until after dispersal from her natal group. Cape Porcupineslive for about ten years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.
Activity patterns. Cape Porcupines are nocturnal. They spend their days at rest in shelters in rock crevices, caves, or abandoned burrows of Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer), which they modify to suit their needs with their front claws. They may excavate their own holes or use termite mounds as dens. Cape Porcupines often bring bones into their shelters. They forage alone at night, although pairs forage near one another, spending less than 25% of their active periods more than 400 m apart and spending more than 50% of active time within 200 m of one another. A pair of Cape Porcupines foraging in proximity of one other could be mate guarding because it is not apparent that they cooperate in foraging or anti-predator defense. When alarmed, defensive action is to raise quills and shake the rattle-quills. If a threat does not subside, a Cape Porcupine might attack by backing rapidly toward the threat, stabbing it with long defensive quills that detach easily from skin.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Cape Porcupines are monogamous and live in family groups typically consisting of an adult male-female pair and subadult and juvenile offspring. Mature offspring may remain in their natal groups when dispersal opportunities are limited; groups of up to 14 individuals have been observed sharing a single burrow. One family unit will irregularly use up to six different burrows. Den entrances can be 10 m apart, and main tunnels can be 20 m long. A living chamber is found c.2 m below ground. Home range is a large, non-exclusive area surrounding a smaller, exclusive core area (territory) that is defended by an adult pair. Males scent-mark more frequently than females and more often in feeding than non-feeding areas, and scent marking may thus play a larger role in territory defense. Territorial boundaries are neither permanent nor rigidly defined. Space use changes with season, but home ranges of adult pairs tend to include the same general area throughout the year, and most activity occurs in a fairly small proportion of the home range. Home ranges of adjacent groups overlap little; neighbors rarely encounter one another in areas of overlap. Home range size is smaller for individuals that forage on natural food vs. individuals that raid crops. Cape Porcupines that feed in natural areas also have larger home ranges in winter (c.116 ha) than summer (c.67 ha). On average, home ranges of males and females in mated pairs overlap ¢.75%. Cape Porcupines exhibit bi-parental care of offspring. Adult males accompany young on foraging excursions and defend against territory intruders. Group huddling among parents and offspring while sleeping in the burrow also provides thermoregulatory benefits, particularly for newborns that do not leave burrows for about nine weeks. Assistance with thermoregulation allows newborns more energy to allocate toward growth. The monogamous pair bond, unusual in mammals, may allow for territory maintenance. There is immediate burrow take-over by a new pair upon the death of one member of a pair. Group living and a monogamous mating system appear to increase territory holding and juvenile success. In absence of natural predation, population age structure is variable, changing between seasons and years. Population regulation is densitydependent. High-density populations of 25 ind/km? have been observed on riverine plains in the South African Karoo. Eight Cape Porcupines per square kilometer is a high density for semiarid regions. Population size appears to be limited by available den sites and territory size. Populations can also be limited by extrinsic factors such as predation; Leopards (Panthera pardus) and Lions (Panthera leo) are primary predators of Cape Porcupines.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Cape Porcupines damage crops and are a source of accessible meat protein to indigenous people, leaving them vulnerable to hunting, trapping, and snaring. Their role as an ecosystem engineer indicates that their protection should be included in conservation plans. Although the Cape Porcupine can hybridize with the Crested Porcupine in captivity, hybridization does not occur in their natural zone of overlap in East Africa.
Bibliography. van Aarde (1985, 1987, 1998), van Aarde & Skinner (1986), van Aarde & van Wyk (1991), Alexander (1956), Barthelmess (2006), Bragg et al. (2005), Corbet & van Aarde (1996), Dean & Milton (1991), De Graaff (1981), Duthie & Skinner (1986), Ferguson et al. (2010), Findlay (1977), Foley et al. (2014), Gooden & Augee (2015), Greaves & Khan (1978), Grubb (2008b), Haim et al. (1992), Happold (2013a), Lawton & Jones (1995), Macdonald (2009), Meester et al. (1986), Mohr (1964), Moreau et al. (1946), Morris & van Aarde (1985), Nowak (1999a), Roberts (1951), Skinner & Chimimba (2005), Skinner et al. (1984), Storch (1990), Thomson (1974), de Villiers & van Aarde (1994), van Weers (1979), Yeaton (1988).
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