This species is distributed in northeastern South Asia, through much of central and southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. In South Asia, this species has been recorded in Assam, India and probably also occurs in Bangladesh. It has been recorded up to 750 m asl (Molur et al. 2005). In China, it has been recorded from Hainan Island, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunnan and Guangxi (Smith and Xie 2008). In Southeast Asia, it is widely recorded in Myanmar, Thailand (including the island of Tarutau), Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Cambodia and Peninsular Malaysia (including the islands of Aor, Pemanggil and Tioman). It is recorded from Sumatra (Indonesia) by Woods and Kilpatrick (2005), but this requires verification.

Atherurus macrourus (Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines) are distributed across southeast Asia. They are found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysian Peninsula, Malacca by Lyon, eastern Assam (India), Hupei, Hainan, southcentral China (Yunnan, Szechuan, and Guangxi provinces), Sumatra, Burma, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and adjacent Indo-chinese islands.

Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native ); oceanic islands (Native )

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines are rat-like and quite slender. They have an almost entirely spiny body, though quills are soft on the under parts, head, and legs. Fur coloration on the upper back is black-brown to grey-brown. These animals possess short and stout limbs, with short, rounded ears. Eyes and ears are quite small. Individual hairs have whitish tips. The underside (ventral side) fur coloration is dirty white to light brown. Their roundish spines are flattened and stiletto-like, with fluted grooves on the upper surface. On the lower back, round and thicker bristles are interspersed between the spines resulting in a distinct terminal tuft. The tuft is whitish to creamy buff in color. Each bristle is thick and scaly and contains a chain of flattened disks that rattles when shaken. This serves as a warning to deter predators. On the upper back, flexible spines are between the fluted spikes, and the longest spines are located on the mid-upper side region. Spines can be about 10 cm long. They have a brush-like tuft on the tip of the tail.

These animals are agile and can run, climb, and swim well. Their fore- and hind-feet are five toed, partially webbed and possess blunt, straight claws. However, the large toe is reduced. The soles are naked and are fitted with pads. The skull lacks or has a very weak postorbital process.

Range mass: 1.0 to 4.3 kg.

Range length: 36.5 to 60 cm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike; ornamentation

Type for Atherurus macrourus
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Mammals
Sex/Stage: Male;
Preparation: Skin; Skull
Collector(s): W. Abbott
Year Collected: 1904
Locality: Pulo Terutau (=Tarutao), Satun, Thailand, Asia

Type for Atherurus macrourus
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Mammals
Sex/Stage: Female;
Preparation: Skin; Skull
Collector(s): W. Abbott
Year Collected: 1901
Locality: Pulo Aor (=Aur), Johor, Malaysia, Asia

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines are terrestrial and nocturnal. They rest during the day in burrows, crevices, termitaries, under and in fallen trees, in holes among tree roots, caves, or cavities along stream banks. They can live in elevations up to altitudes of 3000 meters. Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines prefer to live by plantations or cultivated areas, river forests, forest islands, as well as primary and secondary forests. These animals may dig burrows in soft floors of rainforests, and are often found near water. Rock dens are found to be intricate, having three entries spaced 2 meters apart, feeding into tunnels 3.5 meters long, showing that species of hystricids can be productive lodge diggers. Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines do not cushion their dens with plant materials.

Range elevation: 3000 (high) m.

Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest

Other Habitat Features: agricultural ; riparian ; caves

These animals strictly forage during the night. They are herbivorous and usually feed on vegetation. They enjoy tree bark, roots, tubers, leaves, bulbs, and fallen fruits. However, they sometimes also feed on cultivated crops, insects, and carrion.

Animal Foods: carrion ; insects

Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Lignivore)

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines eat fallen seeds and may disperse some seeds. Such pits and holes created by porcupines can be an important small habitat for sensitive plants. Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines also burrow dens in rocks and soil, and tunneling may provide some aeration of the surrounding soil and create habitat for invertebrates and other, small vertebrates.

Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds; creates habitat; soil aeration

Commensal/Parasitic Species:

• Plasmodium atheruri

Large carnivores such as leopards, humans, large owls, canids, and other cats, hunt porcupines. Atherurus species are protected from most predators by their defensive spines.

Known Predators:

• humans (Homo sapiens)
• leopards (Panthera pardus)
• tigers (Panthera tigris)
• dholes (Cuon alpinus)
• clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa)
• golden jackals (Canis aureus)
• domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)

Anti-predator Adaptations: aposematic

The tendency towards inflation of the facial portion of the skull, and the enlargement of nasal bones is less pronounced in Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines than in other porcupines. The enlarged nasal cavity may allow the animals to have a heightened sense of smell, or it may serve to help retrieving moisture from the air. As in most mammals, chemical cues are widely used in communication. Atherurus macrourus rattle the small cups at the end of their tails, which discourages their predators.

Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; scent marks ; vibrations

Perception Channels: visual ; acoustic ; vibrations

Hystrids are reported to be long-lived. However, not much is known about the lifespan of Atherurus macrourus in the wild. In captivity, Atherurus africanus has been reported to live 23 years, Hystrix brachyura, 21.

Typical lifespan

Status: wild: 15 (high) years.

Typical lifespan

Status: captivity: 20 (high) years.

Observations: Little is known about the lifespan of this species. One captive animal lived for 13.7 years (Richard Weigl 2005), but more detailed studies are needed to better estimate the maximum longevity of this species.

The spines on the backs of females can make mating problematic for male brush-tailed porcupines. Females can be aggressive and rapidly move backward into a male (backward attack). African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) females are not aggressive toward males they are familiar with, but are very aggressive when meeting unfamiliar males. Therefore, a complicated ritual of appeasement performed by males. In other members of the genus Hystrix, the female puts her tail up and the male stands on his hind legs, supporting himself with his hands on the back of the female during mating.

Mating System: monogamous

Both parents participate in raising the young. They breed throughout the year in regions with more favorable climates, otherwise breeding seasonally in the most favorable season. They have 1 to 2 litters a year, with 1 to 2 offspring per litter. No information was found concerning the gestation period of this species, but the related Atherurus africanus has a pregnancy that lasts 100 to 110 days. Females have two pairs of lateral thoracic mammae, and give birth in maternity chambers cushioned with grass or fallen leaves.

Breeding interval: Females give birth to 1 to 2 litters per year.

Breeding season: Breeding occurs throughout the year in regions with more favorable climates, and during the most favorable season in more temperate regions.

Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.

Range gestation period: 100 to 110 days.

Average weaning age: 2 months.

Range time to independence: 1 to 2 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 years.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); viviparous

Average number of offspring: 1.25.

Newborns are very active and agile within hours after they are born. They are highly developed nidifugous animals, with eyes open soon after birth. Because they are very small in size, (3% of the mother's body weight) they have to be nursed for a long time. Both parents participate in guarding the young, taking them for their first excursions and watching over them.

Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines are not yet endangered nor threatened

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Population

Population Trend

Major Threats

Conservation Actions

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines may overfeed on crops, including casava, sweet potatoes, bananas, peanuts, maize, pineapple, mango, and sugarcane. Their habit of eating the a ring of cambium layer around the base of trees results in the death of trees when their vascular tissue is destroyed. Atherurus africanus is known to be a carrier of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium atheruri.

Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings, carries human disease); crop pest

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines are hunted for their meat.

Positive Impacts: food