Hylomys

Hylomys suillus

The little rats hedgehogs ( Hylomys ) are a hedgehog genus of the subfamily of rats hedgehogs ( Galericinae ).

Features

Small rats hedgehogs remember in their physique to shrews or mice, with whom they are not related. Their fur is soft and dense, it is reddish-brown at the top, the underside is yellow-gray. Characteristic is the long flexible snout. These animals can reach a body length 9-15 cm, the tail is a stub 1-3 centimeters long. My weight is 20 to 80 grams, they are therefore among the smallest representatives of the hedgehog.

Distribution and habitat

Small rats hedgehogs are native to Southeast Asia, their range extends from Myanmar and Yunnan to the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Their habitat is moist forests in hilly or mountainous regions.

Way of life

Small rats hedgehogs are bottom dwellers in the first place and only sometimes climb on bushes. You can both diurnal as well as be active at night to thrive faster, they lay in the dense undergrowth of trails. When foraging, they burrow through the forest floor with their long, mobile snout and are identifying insects and worms. Sometimes they also eat fruit. The pairing can take place throughout the year, about a 30 - to 35 -day gestation period usually two or three cubs are born.

Systematics and species

The genus of the little rats hedgehogs includes three types:

• Hylomys suillus is the best known and most widely Art
• Hylomys parvus is limited to a small area on Sumatra, and is, according to the IUCN as critically endangered ( critically endangered ).
• Hylomys megalotis was first described scientifically in 2003 and lives in Laos.

Sometimes the Hainan rats hedgehogs ( Neohylomys hainanensis ) and the shrew hedgehog ( Neotetracus sinensis) are conducted in this genre, but usually counted as a separate genus.