Thai National Parks

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine

Binomial name: Atherurus macrourus, Carolus Linnaeus, 1758

The Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine (Atherurus macrourus) is a species of rodent in the Hystricidae family.

It is found in China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The synonyms of this species are Atherurus assamensis (Thomas, 1921), and Atherurus macrourus (Thomas, 1921) subspecies assamensis.

It is a nocturnal and fossorial species occurring in subtropical and tropical montane forests. It is found on the forest floor, often in areas with profuse undergrowth interspersed with cane and bamboo brakes and palms (Molur et al. 2005). It constructs burrows, which may be occupied by up to three animals. Two litters of a single young are born after a gestation period of 100 to 110 days (Smith and Xie 2008).

The species is protected under Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, though not listed in CITES. It has been recorded from Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh, India (Molur et al. 2005). It is present in a number of protected areas in Southeast Asia.

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