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West European Hedgehog

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

West European Hedgehog

 

Scientific classification

 

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Mammalia

Order:

Erinaceomorpha

Family:

Erinaceidae

Subfamily:

Erinaceinae

Genus:

Erinaceus

Species:

E. europaeus

 

Erinaceus europaeus
Linnaeus, 1758

 

The West European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), or simply the European hedgehog, is a hedgehog species found throughout the Palaearctic region, except in the Himalayas and North Africa. It is not commonly found above 60°N in latitude, except for Finland, Sweden and the Northwestern-most parts of Russia.

This hedgehog is about 20 cm in length, and lives in woodland, farmland and suburban areas. It is nocturnal, and if alarmed will roll itself into a ball, protecting itself against potential predators with its spines.

Unlike the smaller, warmer climate species, the West European Hedgehog may hibernate in the winter. It feeds on slugs, earthworms, beetles and other insects, and sometimes frogs, small rodents, young birds and birds' eggs.

This species has become a serious pest in the Western Isles of Scotland, where introduced hedgehogs eat the eggs of ground-nesting waders such as Snipe, Dunlin, Redshank and Lapwing.

 

References

 

Erinaceus europaeus

1.     Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 214. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 

2.     Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Erinaceus europaeus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern

 

 

Erinaceidae

Erinaceidae is the only family in the order of the Erinaceomorpha. It contains the well-known hedgehogs (subfamily Erinaceinae) of Eurasia and Africa and the gymnures (subfamily Galericinae) of South-east Asia. This family was once considered part of the order Insectivora, but that catch-all order is now considered defunct.[1]

Classification

 

Subfamilies & Genera

 

References

1.     a b Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 212-219. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 

 

 

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erinaceidae&action=history

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_European_Hedgehog&action=history

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