English: hedgehogs gymnures.
Members: 26 species.
Region: eurasia, Africa.
GeneralFood: omnivorous, insects, earthworms, small invertebrates; also seeds, fruit, birds' eggs, carrion
Behaviour: solitary, except breeding; nocturnal, but gymnures are less so, and may be active during the day.
Habitat: simple burrows, temporary nests, hollow logs, hiding places.
ZoologyType: shrew-like, with long snouts and short tails; much larger than shrews, 10 to 15 cm long, 40 to 60 grams heavy.
Limbs: five toes in each foot, sometimes with strong claws for digging.
Head: large eyes and ears.
Mouth: teeth sharp; dental formula: 2-3.1.4.3, 3.1.2-4.3.
Rectum: anal scent glands, more developed in gymnures.
Gestation: six to seven weeks; young are born blind and hairless, although hedgehogs begin to sprout their spines within 36 hours of birth.
Limbs: five toes in each foot, sometimes with strong claws for digging.
Skin: hair modified into sharp, protective spines; gymnures have normal hair.
TaxonomyUntil recently,
Erinaceidae 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 both
Soricidae and
Talpidae share a more recent common ancestor with
Erinaceidae than with solenodons.
Erinaceidae was once considered part of the order Insectivora, but that polyphyletic order is now considered defunct.
SubfamiliesErinaceinae: hedgehogs, of Eurasia and Africa
Galericinae: gymnures, moonrats, of Southeast Asia.