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Information about West European Hedgehog

West European Hedgehog[1]

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Erinaceomorpha
Family:Erinaceidae
Subfamily:Erinaceinae
Genus:Erinaceus
Species:E. europaeus
Binomial name
Erinaceus europaeus
Linnaeus, 1758


The West European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), or simply the European hedgehog, is a hedgehog species found throughout the Palaearctic region, except in the Himalayas and North Africa. It is not commonly found above 60°N in latitude, except for Finland, Sweden and the Northwestern-most parts of Russia.

This hedgehog is about 20 cm in length, and lives in woodland, farmland, and suburban areas. It is nocturnal, and if alarmed will roll itself into a ball, protecting itself against potential predators with its spines.

Unlike the smaller, warmer climate species, the West European Hedgehog may hibernate in the winter. It is omnivorous, feeding on a wide range of invertebrates, but preferring slugs, earthworms, beetles and other insects. The preferred arthropods are the millipedes Glomeris marginata and Tachypodoiulus niger as well as the ground beetle Carabus nemoralis.[3]. It is also known to eat frogs, small rodents, young birds and birds' eggs.

Enlarge picture
Blonde hedgehog
This species has become a serious pest in the Western Isles of Scotland, where introduced hedgehogs eat the eggs of ground-nesting waders such as Snipe, Dunlin, Redshank and Lapwing. It is also considered a pest in New Zealand where it preys upon the native giant snails (Powelliphanta), weta, and various other native invertebrates

Blonde hedgehogs have a rare recessive gene giving rise to beady, button-black eyes and attractive creamy-coloured spines; they are not strictly speaking albino. They are extremely rare except on the Channel Island of Alderney and are nicknamed "Alderney Spike Girls". A population of around a thousand is believed to exist. They allegedly carry no fleas, and are a localised island variant of Erinaceus europaeus.

A low coverage assembly of the genome of Erinaceus europaeus was released by the Broad Institute in June 2006 as part of the Mammalian Genome Project.[4]

Protection List

On august 28, 2007, the new Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) [launched in 1997] included West European hedgehogs to the list of species and habitats in the UK that need conservation and greater protection.[5][6]





References

1. ^ Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 214. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.2005&rft.edition=3rd%20edition&rft.pub=Johns%20Hopkins%20University%20Press&rft.pages=214"> 
2. ^ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Erinaceus europaeus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
3. ^ B. Lundrigan & J. Bidlingmeyer (2000). Erinaceus europaeus: western European hedgehog. Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan.
4. ^ Hedgehog. Ensembl Genome Browser. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
5. ^ BBC NEWS, Hedgehogs join 'protection' list
6. ^ BAP Terrestrial Mammal List
conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
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IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Erinaceomorpha
Gregory, 1910

Family: Erinaceidae
G. Fischer, 1814

Subfamilies & Genera
  • Erinaceinae
  • Atelerix

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Erinaceomorpha
Gregory, 1910

Family: Erinaceidae
G. Fischer, 1814

Subfamilies & Genera
  • Erinaceinae
  • Atelerix

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Erinaceinae
G. Fischer, 1814

Genera
  • Atelerix
  • Erinaceus
  • Hemiechinus
  • Mesechinus
  • Paraechinus


A hedgehog is any of the small spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae
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Erinaceus
Linnaeus, 1758

Type species
Erinaceus europaeus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

Erinaceus amurensis
Erinaceus concolor
Erinaceus europaeus
Erinaceus roumanicus


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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné)

Carl von Linné, Alexander Roslin, 1775. Currently owned by and hanging at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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Erinaceinae
G. Fischer, 1814

Genera
  • Atelerix
  • Erinaceus
  • Hemiechinus
  • Mesechinus
  • Paraechinus


A hedgehog is any of the small spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae
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species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface.

Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone. It includes the terrestrial ecoregions of Europe, Asia north of the Himalaya foothills, northern Africa, and the northern and
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Himalayas (also Himalaya, Hindi: हिमालय, IPA pronunciation: [hɪ'mɑlijə], [ˌhɪmə'leɪjə]
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North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven territories:

  • Algeria
  • Egypt
  • Libya

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equator divides the planet into a Northern Hemisphere and a Southern Hemisphere, and has a latitude of 0. Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, , gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator.
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Anthem
Maamme   (Finnish)
VÃ¥rt land   (Swedish)
Our Land
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Motto
(Royal) "För Sverige - I tiden" 1
"For Sweden – With the Times" Â²
Anthem
Du gamla, Du fria
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Anthem
Hymn of the Russian Federation


Capital
(and largest city) Moscow

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1 centimetre =
SI units
010−3 m 0 mm
US customary / Imperial units
010−3 ft 0 in
A centimetre (American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm
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woodland is a area covered in trees, differentiated from a forest. In these terms, a forest has a largely closed canopy – the branches and foliage of trees interlock overhead to provide extensive and nearly continuous shade.
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arable land (from Latin arare, to plough) is an agricultural term, meaning land that can be used for growing crops.

Of the earth's 148,000,000 km² (57 million square miles) of land, approximately 31,000,000 km² (12 million square miles) are arable;
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Suburbs are commonly defined as residential areas on the outskirts of a city or large town.[1] Most modern suburbs are commuter towns with many single-family homes.
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nocturnality describes sleeping during the daytime and being active at night - the opposite of the diurnal human lifestyle, and that of those animals with which we are most familiar. The intermediate crepuscular schedule (twilight activity) is also common.
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predation describes a biological interaction where a predator organism feeds on another living organism or organisms known as prey.[1] Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them.
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Stylommatophora

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Subinfraorders, superfamilies, and families
See text
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Slug
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Lumbricina

Families

  Acanthodrilidae
  Ailoscolecidae
  Alluroididae
  Almidae
  Criodrilidae
  Eudrilidae
  Exxidae
  Glossoscolecidae
  Lumbricidae
  Lutodrilidae
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