Digestion in the porcupine Hystrix africaeaustralis

Abstract

The porcupine has a very efficient dental barrage, which enables digestion of cellular protein in the fully glandular unilocular stomach without coprophagy. Undigested fibre is passed to the enlarged caecum and proximal colon where it is subjected to microbial fermentation, with retention of the coarser, less digestible components in the caecum. The ‘retention colon’ probably plays an important role in the prevention of excessive water and electrolyte loss in faeces.