The porcupine Hystrix refossa Gervais, 1852 from the Plio-Pleistocene of Europe, with notes on other fossil and extant species of the genus Hystrix

Fossil Hystrix material from a large number of localities is biometrically analysed and compared with the extant species. H. major, H. etrusca, H. makapensis, and H. angressi are shown to be junior synonyms of H. refossa. H. bessarabica and H. trofimovi are shown to be junior synonyms of H. primigenia, and H. schaubi and H. cristata minor of H. vinogradovi. The dental characteristics of H. refossa, H. primigenia and H. vinogradovi are discussed.