North American Porcupine Claw

Description

North American porcupine front claw replica measures 1.2 x 0.25 x 0.40 inches. The Erethizon dorsatum claw is a museum-quality polyurethane resin cast of a California Academy of Sciences specimen. 1:1 scale. Made in USA.

North American porcupines are usually dark brown or black in color, with white highlights. They have a stocky body, a small face, short legs, and a short, thick tail.  The head-and-body length is 2.0 to 3.0 ft.

The North American porcupine have four toes on their front feet and five on the hind feet. Each individual toe features a long, heavily curved claw made of hard keratin.

The narrow width allows the claw to cleanly puncture deep into rough tree bark. They use their front claws to peel away the bark to eat the soft layer underneath. The base height provides structural strength to prevent snapping under the animal’s weight.

Porcupines actively rely on these compact claws to climb trees for food and safety. The sharp curves function like climbing spikes to anchor their heavy bodies to limbs.

They also use the narrow tips to scrape away bark and dig for roots. This allows them to survive cold winters without hibernating. They also use their claws like a fine-comb to clean their soft underbelly fur.

Scientific Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Rodentia
• Family: Erethizontidae
• Subfamily: Erethizontinae
• Genus: Erethizon
• Species: E. dorsatum
• Binomial name: Erethizon dorsatum
• Conservation status: Least Concern

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