biology

List of hystricids

List of hystricids is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of hystricids rather than just read about it. In short: Hystricidae is a family of mammals in the order Rodentia and part of the infraorder Hystricognathi. Members of this family are called hystricids or Old World porcupines.

Key takeaways

List of hystricids belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of hystricids to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of hystricids from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hystricidae is a family of mammals in the order Rodentia and part of the infraorder Hystricognathi. Members of this family are called hystricids or Old World porcupines. They are found in Southern Europe, the Levant, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, and can be found in shrublands, grasslands, forests and savannas, though some species have particular habitat and dietary requirements. They range in size from the long-tailed porcupine, at 48 cm (19 in) plus a 23 cm (9 in) tail, to the crested porcupine, at 93 cm (37 in) plus a 17 cm (7 in) tail. Hystricids are primarily herbivores and eat grasses, bulbs, tubers, fruit, bark, and roots, though insects and carrion are occasionally eaten. No hystricids have population estimates, and none are categorized as an endangered species or critically endangered. The eleven extant species of Hystricidae are divided into three genera: Atherurus consists of two species, the African and Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine, Hystrix contains eight species of porcupines in three subgenera, and Trichys consists of a single species, the long-tailed porcupine. At least eight extinct prehistoric hystricid species have been discovered, with the most recent new description of an extinct species occurring in 2023.

Conventions

The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List data for that species.

Classification Hystricidae is a family consisting of eleven species in three genera.

Family Hystricidae Genus Atherurus (brush-tailed porcupines): two species Genus Hystrix (Old World porcupines): eight species Genus Trichys (long-tailed porcupine): one species

Hystricids The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.

References

Sources

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of hystricids

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of hystricids claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of hystricids before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of hystricids ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of hystricids

In research: List of hystricids appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of hystricids in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of hystricids is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Hystricidae, Lists of animal species, Lists of rodents, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of hystricids outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of hystricids in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of hystricids means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of hystricids out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of hystricids in simple terms?

Hystricidae is a family of mammals in the order Rodentia and part of the infraorder Hystricognathi. Members of this family are called hystricids or Old World porcupines.

Why does List of hystricids matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of hystricids?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of hystricids.