Getting to the Point: How Many Quills Does A North American Porcupine (Erethizon Dorsatum) Have?-Juniper Publishers
JUNIPER PUBLISHERS - OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL OF DAIRY & VETERINARY SCIENCES Abstract Hall [ 1 ] claimed that the North American porcupine ( Erethizon dorsatum) possesses more than 30,000 quills. In this study, the author counted 44,006 quills from a captive twenty-two year-old porcupine. The potentially large variation in the number of quills in E. dorsatum could be the result of body mass variation, sex, and diet composition. Keywords: Porcupine; Quills;Erethizon dorsatum Introduction The dorsal integumentary surface of the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is covered with a dense layer of quills, a modified hair structure used for defence. Quills have a tapering point covered with microscopic barbs, allowing for simple penetration but difficult removal from tissue [ 2 ]. Despite the work done on the mechanical properties of porcupine quills [ 2 , 3 ] and literature on quill-related injuries [ 4 ], i...