Hedgehog species

Quilled hedgehogs

The 'quilled hedgehogs' subfamily Erinaceinae is the best-known subfamily of the hedgehogs. There are a total of 18 species of hedgehogs around the world, some even rarer than others. Most species are protected in the area where they live naturally, but there are also species that are kept as pets. The hedgehog species are divided into 5 families, each with its own characteristics.

Atelerix

This family of hedgehogs is only found on the continent of Africa. The family is therefore also called the family of real African hedgehogs.
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Erinaceus

The Erinaceus family is often seen as the family of European hedgehogs, but this is not quite correct. These hedgehogs can be found in Europe, the Middle East, parts of Russia and even in China and Korea.
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Hemiechinus

This hedgehog family contains only two species of hedgehogs, which are found in Southern and Central Asia.
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Paraechinus

This family of hedgehog species occurs in Northern Africa, the Middle East and Southern Asia. All hedgehog species in this family are small hedgehogs, which is why it is also referred to as the dwarf hedgehog family.
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Mesechinus

The Mesechinus family contains four species, all of which occur in East Asia. The family is therefore also called the family of Chinese hedgehogs, although this name is not entirely correct. There are no pictures of these hedgehogs, due to the face they're hardly ever seen in their native habitat.




Hairy hedgehogs

Hairy hedgehogs or gymnures are a seperate subfamily within the family of hedgehogs. Instead of quills, they have stiffened hairs. They can look a lot like tenrecs, but a lot of gymnures can also like like rodents, closely resembling rats. There are 10 living species, divided into 5 genera. But there are still new species being discovered.

  • Genus Echinosorex
    • Echinosorex gymnura
  • Genus Hylomys
    • Hylomys megalotis
    • Hylomys parvus
    • Hylomys suillus
  • Genus Neohylomys
    • Neohylomys hainanensis
  • Genus Neotetracus
    • Neotetracus sinensis
  • Genus Podogymnura
    • Podogymnura aureospinula
    • Podogymnura intermedia
    • Podogymnura minima
    • Podogymnura truei