Invertebrates from Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) Rock Dens from Greene County, Catskill Mountains, New York

Abstract

Invertebrates were collected from four ground-level porcupine dens. These dens are used mostly in winter. They were under flat rocks or in rock crevices but the openings were typically large enough that one could crawl into them. A number of kinds of invertebrates were found, some of the more interesting being the mites Acotyledon paradoxa, Baker dania sp., Calvolia sp., Coccotydeus sp., Eucheyletia bishoppi, and Dermacarus sp. and related glycyphagids. These invertebrates are entirely different from parasites found on the porcupine, and must have entered directly from the environment or were present all year.