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The Shorcupine (Elasmobranchii Erethizon) is a crossbred species of Porcupine and Shark and is part of the family Elasmobranchii and the genus Erethizon, which creates a shark-like creature with porcupine features, creating a spiny, fish-eating threat to the seas.

Etymology

The name “Shorcupine” comes from the Latin name of “porcus” and the German name “schurke”. Porcus means “pig” while Schurke means “worthless rogue”, which perfectly combines the two original species into this unique crossbreed. Kingdom: Animalia-eukaryotic, multicellular, heterotrophic organism that lacks a cell wall. Species with relation include: porcushark, sharkpine, quilles-shark, shorcpiné

History & Evolution

The Shorcupine began as a smaller sized shark that mostly inhabited reefs and bodies of water closer to the shore. However due to dietary shifts within the reef, it had to evacuate to deeper parts of the seas. This allowed the Shorcupine to have a little more room to grow, and overtime developed a bigger diet due to feeding on bigger fish in the deeper waters. As well as that, the quills on the Shorcupine’s back multiplied and grew larger in order to protect the Shorcupine from predators.

Habitat & Population

Ever since the majority of the Shorcupine population migrated to the deeper waters, they have been able to evolve and thrive better there. They can mostly be found a few miles off of reefs, and are most commonly seen around Australia and Southeast Asia. However, the population has actually been decreasing around Southeast Asia due to intense water pollution and overfishing for their quills. They are fairly high placed in the food web, fishing on most medium sized fish that surround the reef.

Biology

The Shorcupine’s quills are the most prominent feature on this creature. They are mostly used in self defense or when striking prey. They also have 10x the smelling power of other sharks, and although not strong vision, it can sense predators as well as prey very well. Life expectancy is about 10-15 years.

Impact On Earth

When the Shorcupine migrated out of the reefs, they increased their diet to lots of medium sized fish, including tuna, salmon, and trout. This actually led to a regulation within the food web, because the Shorcupine took place of a fish species that had gone extinct, leading to an overabundance of those medium fish. The only real threat the Shorcupine has is humans, who hunt them for their unique quills.

Citations: https://www.etymonline.com/word/porcupine https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=shark https://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/167024