Xenohystrix crassidens

This picture [rights not yet acquired for this blog, but see link while it lasts] is of Hystrix cristata, a living relative of the Miocene/Pliocene porcupine Xenohystrix crassidens. Both are in the family Hystricidae. Hystrix cristata is native to Africa and Italy, including Sicily.

Name

Xenohystrix crassidens

Authority

Greenwood 1955

Meaning of generic name

Foreign Hystrix

Meaning of specific name

with thick teeth

Size

60-90 cm. (1.97-2.95 feet)

Remains

Dentaries

Age and Distribution

Miocene, Ma West Margin site (5.7 - 5.2 million years ago), Ethiopia

Pliocene Makapansgat (Members 3,4) 3.7 - 2.5 million years ago) South Africa,

Classification

Mammalia, Rodentia, Ctenohystrica, Hystricognathi, and Hystricidae

Further Reading

Leslea J. Hlusko. 2007. EARLIEST EVIDENCE FOR ATHENURUS AND XENOHYSTRIX (HYSTRICIDAE, RODENTIA) IN AFRICA, FROM THE LATE MIOCENE SITE OF LEMUDONGYO, KENYA. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History.