Southern White-breasted Hedgehog

Southern White-breasted Hedgehog[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Erinaceomorpha
Family: Erinaceidae
Subfamily: Erinaceinae
Genus: Erinaceus
Species: E. concolor
Binomial name
Erinaceus concolor
Martin, 1838
Range of the Southern White-breasted Hedgehog (red)

The Southern White-breasted Hedgehog (Erinaceus concolor), sometimes referred to as East European Hedgehog, White-bellied Hedgehog or White-chested Hedgehog, is very similar in lifestyle and appearance to the European Hedgehog, but the former has a white spot on its chest. For a long time these two species were considered to be one. The Northern White-breasted Hedgehog was formerly recognized as a subspecies of the Southern White-breasted Hedgehog but newer investigations see both as different species. The Southern White-breasted Hedgehog and European Hedgehog can hybridize.

Unlike its European counterpart, the Southern White-breasted Hedgehog never digs dens. It prefers building grass nests in secluded places.

References

  1. ^ Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 213–214. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13600016. 
  2. ^ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Erinaceus concolor. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 2006-05-06. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern