Malayan porcupine | |
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Hystrix brachyura, Malayan porcupine - Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Hystricidae |
Genus: | Hystrix |
Species: | H. brachyura |
Binomial name | |
Hystrix brachyura Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Subspecies | |
H. b. brachyura |
H. b. brachyura
H. b. subcristata
H. b. hodgsoni
H. b. punungensis (extinct)
H. b. yunnanensis Anderson, 1878
H. b. bengalensis Blyth, 1851
The Malayan porcupine or Himalayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. Three subspecies are extant in South and Southeast Asia.
The Malayan porcupine ranges from Nepal through north-east India (Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland), to Bangladesh, central and southern China (Xizang, Hainan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Fujian, Jianxi, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu), throughout Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam, through Peninsular Malaysia, to Singapore, Sumatra (Indonesia) and throughout Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia, Sarawak and Brunei). It is also present on the island of Penang, Malaysia. It can be found from sea level to at least 1,300 m asl.
This species and its close relatives are believed to have originated from southern Asia based on their current distribution. Their origin may lie from a common ancestor when Sumatra, Borneo, and Palawan were part of Sundaland.