Mammals of North Africa and the Middle East (Pocket Photo Guides)

(Elliott) #1

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HEDGEHOGS AND SHREWS (Eulipotyphla)


The Eulipotyphla order includes the hedgehogs and shrews. All
have high metabolic rates and eat voraciously in order to maintain
themselves.


HEDGEHOGS


Six species of hedgehog occur across the region. All have a covering
of short, hard spines on their upperparts and when threatened roll
themselves into a defensive ball to protect their underparts and head.
The spines are alternately banded brown-black and white. The tail
is very short and often not visible. Hedgehogs have a total length of
15–32 cm and a weight of 250–1,600 g.
Hedgehog species differ mainly in coloration, habitat choice and
distribution. All are nocturnal and usually solitary, and in some parts
of their range they hibernate. They eat a wide range of animal foods,
and fruits and fungi. Two to ten young, each weighing 8–18 g, are born
after a 35–48-day gestation.


Ethiopian Hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus) Sometimes called the
Desert Hedgehog, the muzzle of this species is dark brown, contrasting
with the rest of its face, which is white; it has fairly long ears. This
species occurs across North Africa and most of Arabia, but is absent
from Turkey. It has not been reliably reported from Iran, but is present
on several Persian Gulf islands.


White-bellied Hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) The underparts and
face of this hedgehog are very pale to white. It is a species of the
African tropics, but occurs across the Sahel and southern Sahara fringe
in northern Niger.


Algerian Hedgehog (Erinaceus algirus) This species is very similar to
the White-bellied Hedgehog, but occurs north of the Sahara from
Morocco and into Libya.


Long-eared Hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus) This is a small species
with long ears and white to fawnish face and underparts. It is found on
the coastal plain of eastern Libya and Egypt, and also occurs in Israel
and Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, the east coast of Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain and possibly the western UAE.


Brandt’s Hedgehog (Paraechinus hypomelas) This large-eared, dark
brown to black hedgehog is the darkest hedgehog in the region. It is
found mainly in the mountains and hills of south-west Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, northern Oman and the eastern UAE, as well as in central Iran
eastwards to Baluchestan.


East European Hedgehog (Erinaceus concolor) The overall colour of this
hedgehog is pale to darkish dull brown, and it has short ears. It favours
agricultural and wooded areas in Turkey, north Iraq and north-west Iran,
and is also found in Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.


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