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.
The long-beaked echidnas make up one of the two extant genera of echidnas: there are three extant species, all living in New Guinea. They are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines made of keratin. They have short, strong limbs with large claws, and are powerful diggers. They forage in leaf litter on the forest floor, eating earthworms and insects.
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 long-eared hedgehog is a species of hedgehog native to Central Asian countries and some countries of the Middle East. The long-eared hedgehog lives in burrows that it either makes or finds and is distinguished by its long ears. It is considered one of the smallest Middle Eastern hedgehogs. This hedgehog is insectivorous but may also feed on small vertebrates and plants. In captivity they can live for over 7 years.
The Indian hedgehog is a species of hedgehog native to India and Pakistan. It mainly lives in sandy desert areas but can be found in other environments.
The Afghan hedgehog(Hemiechinus auritus megalotis) is a subspecies of the long-eared hedgehog native to Afghanistan and western Pakistan. It is larger and reddish in colour, but otherwise similar in appearance to the long-eared hedgehog.
Plecotus is a genus of vesper bat, commonly called long-eared bats. They are found throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years.
Hemiechinus is a genus of hedgehogs. It contains two species, found in Central and South Asia.
Euphractinae is an armadillo subfamily in the family Chlamyphoridae.
Plagiosuchus is an extinct genus of plagiosaurid temnospondyl. It is known from several collections from the Middle Triassic of Germany.
The Sardinian long-eared bat is a species of bat endemic to Sardinia, Italy.
The parasphenoid is a bone which can be found in the cranium of many vertebrates. It is an unpaired dermal bone which lies at the midline of the roof of the mouth. In many reptiles, it fuses to the endochondral (cartilage-derived) basisphenoid bone of the lower braincase, forming a bone known as the parabasisphenoid. Early mammals have a small parasphenoid, but for the most part its function has been replaced by the vomer bone. The parasphenoid has been lost in placental mammals and caecilian amphibians.
The oesophageal pouches are a pair of pouches connected to the oesophagus of all molluscs, and represent a synapomorphy of the phylum.
The Japanese long-eared bat is a species of vesper bat endemic to Japan, where it is found in Hokkaido, Honshu and Shikoku. It has distinctive, long ears, hence its Japanese name, the 'rabbit bat'. Formerly included as a subspecies of the European bat Plecotus auritus, genetic studies now indicate Plecotus sacrimontis is a separate species.
Megadictyon is a genus of Cambrian lobopodian with similarities to Jianshanopodia and Siberion. Occasionally mis-spelt Magadictyon.
Ognev's long-eared bat is a species of bat found in Asia. By 2006, it was recognized as a separate species from the P. auritus species complex.
Plecotini is a tribe of bats in the family Vespertilionidae. It contains several genera found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, in Eurasia, North Africa, and North America. Several genera in this tribe are known as big-eared bats or long-eared bats. It also contains the spotted bat and barbastelles.
The epipterygoid is a paired cranial bone present in many tetrapods. It acts as a vertical strut connecting the pterygoid bone of the palate to the outer surface of the braincase or the underside of the skull roof. The epipterygoid is an endochondral bone, similar to the braincase but unlike most other bones in the skull. In squamates, the epipterygoid generally has a slender rod-like shape, and is also known as the columella cranii. The epipterygoid is considered to be homologous to the alisphenoid bone of mammals. Though present in many extinct archosaurs, it has been independently lost in modern crocodilians and birds.
