Early Pliocene porcupine (Mammalia, Rodentia) from Perpignan, France: a new systematic study

The relatively rich porcupine remains from the early Pliocene locality of Serrat d'en Vacquer, near Perpignan, have been restudied. They were previously determined as Hystrix primigenia (Wagner, 1848) by Depéret (1890) and maintained in this species by later students. The bulk of the material represents in fact a new species, H. depereti n. sp., larger in size than H. primigenia and different from it in its higher crowned cheek teeth and reduced third molars. Among the Perpignan material, there are two molars, different in colour and possibly mixed, that fit better in size and morphology with H. primigenia.