Largest porcupine

The world's largest species of porcupine is the common or North African crested porcupine Hystrix cristata, which measures up to 90 cm in head-and-body length, plus a relatively short tail length of up to 17 cm, and weighs 13–27 kg. Its familiar black-and-white striped spines measure up to 51 cm long and are extremely sharp, and if the porcupine feels threatened it can raise them up into a defensive, impenetrable crest, hence its name. This species is native not only to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa, but also to parts of eastern and western Africa, as well as to Italy in Europe. It is a member of the Old World taxonomic family of porcupines, Hystricidae.

There are two entirely separate taxonomic families of porcupine. The members of one of these families, Hystricidae, are found exclusively in the Old World, whereas the members of the other family, Erethizontidae, are found exclusively in the New World. However, genetic and anatomical studies have revealed that despite their superficial, outward appearance, sharing a dense covering of spines as a defensive mechanism, the two families are not closely related to one another.