Brandt's Hedgehog

Taxobox
name = Brandt's HedgehogMSW3 Hutterer | pages = 217]
status = LR/lc
status_system = iucn2.3
status_ref = IUCN2006 | assessors = Insectivore Specialist Group | year = 1996 | id = 40610 | title = Hemiechinus hypomelas | downloaded = 2006-05-12 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern]

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image_caption = A Brandt's Hedgehog from Rajasthan, India
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Erinaceomorpha
familia = Erinaceidae
genus = "Paraechinus"
species = "P. hypomelas"
binomial = "Paraechinus hypomelas"
binomial_authority = (Brandt, 1836)

Brandt's Hedgehog ("Paraechinus hypomelas") is a species of desert hedgehog native to the Middle East and Middle Asia. Brandt's Hedgehog is approximately the size of the West European Hedgehog (about 500–1,000 g in weight and 25 cm in length), but has distinctively large ears similar to the Long-eared Hedgehog and is a much faster runner due to lighter (but still superior to the Long-eared Hedgehog) needle protection. It is a fast runner, but, unlike the Long-eared Hedgehog, predominantely nocturnal and uses cuddling tactic more often, although still employing "jumping" attack.

Brandt's Hedgehog prefers arid desert areas and mountains. It uses natural shelter a lot, although it is still capable of digging dens when absolutely needed. It hibernates during colder weather.

It is named after (and by) Johann Friedrich von Brandt, a director of the Zoological Department at the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

References