Paraechinus
Genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paraechinus is a genus of hedgehogs. Members are small and nocturnal. The genus contains four species from North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia:[1]
- Desert hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus)
- Brandt's hedgehog (Paraechinus hypomelas)
- Indian hedgehog (Paraechinus micropus)
- Bare-bellied hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris)
| Paraechinus | |
|---|---|
| |
| P. aethiopicus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Erinaceidae |
| Subfamily: | Erinaceinae |
| Genus: | Paraechinus Trouessart, 1879 |
| Type species | |
| Erinaceus micropus Blyth, 1846 | |
| Species | |
Locomotory activity patterns
The locomotory activity of the Desert hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus) occurred during the dark phases of both long and short day cycles. Therefore this species is considered nocturnal.[2]
The Paraechinus hypomelas hypomelas is distributed throughout mainland Iran to the western side of the Indus River in Pakistan, suggesting the presence of a single subspecies Paraechinus hypomelas niger from the entire Arabian Peninsula. Paraechinus hypomelas blanfordi could potentially be considered a new sub-species because it deviates from the rest of them.[3]
