Hedgehogs and moonrats
Hedgehogs and moonrats are quite primitive, and bear a certain resemblance in appearance and habits to the earliest mammals. Unlike those early mammals, they bear live young instead of laying eggs. Hedgehogs have spines, but moonrats (also known as gymnures) do not. They are all omnivores.
Genus
Erinaceus
Hedgehog (species)Hemiechinus
Long-eared hedgehog (species)
About
Erinaceidae is the only living family in the order of the Erinaceomorpha. It contains the well-known hedgehogs (subfamily Erinaceinae) of Eurasia and Africa and the gymnures or moonrats (subfamily Galericinae) of South-east Asia. This family was once considered part of the order Insectivora, but that polyphyletic order is now considered defunct.
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Elsewhere on the web
- Erinaceidae (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Erinaceidae (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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