Erinaceidae
Sign in to saveErinaceidae (from Latin erinaceus, "hedgehog") is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it 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.
AI overview
Erinaceidae is a family of small mammals that includes hedgehogs and moonrats, belonging to the order Eulipotyphla. Understanding this family matters to scientists because studying its evolutionary relationships—particularly how it connects to other groups like shrews and moles—has helped them better understand the true family tree of these insectivorous mammals.
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Research
1,904 papers- Salmonellosis in Hedgehogs.The veterinary clinics of North America. Exotic animal practice · 2020
- Hedgehog zoonoses.Emerging infectious diseases · 2005
- Hedgehogs.The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice · 1994
- Molecular data confirm the taxonomic position of Hymenolepis erinacei (Cyclophyllidea: Hymenolepididae) and host switching, with notes on cestodes of Palaearctic hedgehogs (Erinaceidae).
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Characteristics
- Evolution
- Classification
- References
Erinaceidae (from Latin erinaceus, "hedgehog") is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it 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 contains the well-known hedgehogs (subfamily Erinaceinae) of Eurasia and Africa and the gymnures or moonrats (subfamily Galericinae) of Southeast Asia. This family was once considered part of the order Insectivora, but that polyphyletic order is now considered defunct.