Hystrix prehensilis Skull Replica measures 3.3 inches. Hystrix prehensilis Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast made in USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). California Academy of Sciences cast of original specimen. Known as Prehensile tailed porcupine. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home decor skull, or office decor skull.
Hystrix prehensilis or Brazilian porcupines have short, thick quills and their body color ranges from yellowish to almost black.
The dorsal body surface is densely covered with long quills (37–83 mm), gradually longer from shoulder to rump with thin and sparse black hairs concealed underneath.
They have three patterns of quill bands on the shoulders, bicolored quills (white or whitish yellow base and black tip); tricolored quills (white or whitish yellow base, blackish middle, and whitish tip); and four-banded quills with a brownish tip.
Among the most notable features of Coendou porcupines are their unspined prehensile tails. The front and hind feet are also modified for grasping.
These limbs all contribute to making this animal an adept climber, an adaptation to living most of their lives in trees.
They feed on leaves, shoots, fruits, bark, roots, and buds. They can be pests of plantation crops. they also make a distinctive “baby-like” sound to communicate in the wild.
The Hystrix prehensilis live in the South American forests of Venezuela, Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad, and some extreme northern sections of Argentina. They weigh from 4 to 11 pounds.
Their bodies are 12 to 24 inches long and their tails are almost as long as their bodies, adding another 13 to 19 inches. Their head is round, and face usually white. Pink nose and lips are large, soft, and bulbous.
The Hystrix prehensilis does not hesitate to attack an adversary, which it does by biting or sitting on its haunches to shake its quills. They will stamp their hind feet when excited and curl up to protect their soft underbelly.
They can produce a variety of sounds, from moans and whines to grunts, coughs, shrieks, barks and wails.
The Hystrix prehensilis are herbivores that eat leaves, flowers, shoots, roots and the cambium layer found beneath the bark of some trees.
Arboreal animals, they are also excellent climbers and spend the majority of their time in trees. Their ranges vary from 20 to 94 acres.
Hystrix prehensilis are arboreal and nocturnal. They are often immobile and difficult to spot. They rest diurnally in retreats in hollow trees or in shady locations in the forest subcanopy. They are surprisingly agile and climb quickly.
The Hystrix prehensilis young are covered with red hairs and small spines, which harden shortly after birth. Young weigh 360-450 grams at birth and are nutritionally independent at 15 weeks after birth. During the day, young are left alone in a sheltered place but are nursed at least once per day.
The Hystrix prehensilis is a least-concern species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. They do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent.
