From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Desert Hedgehog
Desert Hedgehog
Desert Hedgehog
Conservation status
Desert Hedgehog range
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
The desert hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus is a species
Paraechinus aethiopicus)
Scientific classification of mammal in the Erinaceidae family.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata Description
Class: Mammalia The desert hedgehog is one of the smallest of hedgehogs.
It is 5.5 to 11 inches long and weighs about 10-18 ounces.
Order: Erinaceomorpha
The spines on its back can be banded with coloring sim-
Family: Erinaceidae ilar to the four-toed hedgehog. If desert hedgehogs are
threatened, their muscles go tight and pull the outer lay-
Genus: Paraechinus
er of skin around the body, making their spikes stick out
Species: P. aethiopicus in all directions. The spines tend to be longer then other
Binomial name hedgehogs for better protection against prey. As such it
almost impossible to get to them.
Paraechinus aethiopicus
(Ehrenberg, 1832)
Habitat
It is found in the Sahara Desert, Algeria, Chad, Djibouti,
Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya,
Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Saudi Arabia,
Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Ye-
men, and possibly Ethiopia.
Diet
They eat insects, scorpions, spiders and snakes. Studies
show that some hedgehogs have a high resistance to tox-
ins.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Desert_Hedgehog&oldid=462301591"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Desert Hedgehog
Categories:
• IUCN Red List least concern species
• Fauna of Iran
• Mammals of the United Arab Emirates
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