| Atelerix [1] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A. albiventris | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Erinaceidae |
| Subfamily: | Erinaceinae |
| Genus: | Atelerix Pomel, 1848 |
| Type species | |
| Erinaceus albiventris Wagner, 1841 | |
| Species | |
Atelerix is a genus of hedgehog in the family Erinaceidae. It contains four species, all native to Africa. [1]
The Atelerix diversified from its family because of geographical isolation during Pleistocene climate changes. This being a type of vicariance separation from the Niger River. This allowed the Erinaceidane family to be more diverse.
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. There are no hedgehogs native to Australia and no living species native to the Americas. However, the extinct genus Amphechinus was once present in North America.
Erinaceidae is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyphla has been shown to be monophyletic; Soricomorpha is paraphyletic because Soricidae shared a more recent common ancestor with Erinaceidae than with other soricomorphs.
The most common species of domesticated hedgehog is the four-toed hedgehog. The Algerian hedgehog is a separate species of hedgehog.
The four-toed hedgehog, also known as the African pygmy hedgehog, is a species of hedgehog found throughout much of central and eastern Africa.
The North African hedgehog or Algerian hedgehog, is a mammal species in the family Erinaceidae native to Algeria, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and Tunisia. Little is known about this hedgehog, even though the most common breed of domesticated hedgehogs is a result of crossing a four-toed hedgehog with a North African hedgehog. Because this species of hedgehog is native to Africa, it has been suggested that it was introduced by humans to the other countries where it is now found, including Spain and the Canary Islands. Of the four African hedgehog species, the North African hedgehog is the only one of these hedgehogs that occurs outside Africa. Because the North African hedgehog has such a wide habitat range and has a seemingly stable population, both in the wild and in the domesticated capacity, it does not appear to currently be at risk.
The Southern African hedgehog is a species of mammal in the family Erinaceidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The Somali hedgehog is a species of mammal in the family Erinaceidae. It is endemic to Somalia and Somaliland. The Somali hedgehog is nocturnal.
Mesechinus is a genus of hedgehogs. It contains four species from East Asia:
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:
| Authority control databases: National |
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