The
New World porcupines, family
Erethizontidae, are large
arboreal rodents, distinguished by their
spiny coverings from which they take their name. They inhabit
forests and wooded regions across North America, and into northern South America. Although both the New World and
Old World porcupine families belong to the
Hystricognathi branch of the vast
order Rodentia, they are quite different and are not closely related.