Northern white-breasted hedgehog
Northern White -breasted Hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus )
The Northern White -breasted Hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus ) or Eastern European hedgehog is a species in the genus of small eared hedgehog. In addition to the Hedgehog, he is the second living in Central Europe Igelart. In German, the animal, together with the Southern White -breasted Hedgehog usually just called White -breasted Hedgehog or Ostigel.
Dissemination
The white-breasted hedgehog is native to Central and Eastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula and Crete, the Baltic, the Northern Caucasus to Western Siberia. The habitat extends from sea level to at least 1400 meters.
Description
From the Hedgehog, it differs primarily by the lighter color of the breast, which clearly stands out from the brown or brown-gray environment. With a head-body length of 171-280 millimeters, it is somewhat smaller than the Southern White -breasted Hedgehog. The tail length is approximately 29 millimeters, the Hinterfußlänge 38 to 43 mm, the ear length of 28 to 34 mm, the Condylobasallänge 50-64 millimeters, and the body weight of 240 to 1232 grams. The bright portions of the base are almost white and the middle of the breast is always white. The back and the top of the head is covered with spikes. If attacked, it can be rolled into a ball.
Way of life
The White -breasted Hedgehog inhabited farmland, parks and gardens in rural and urban areas, and only moderately vegetated forest edges. As the related Hedgehog is the White -breasted Hedgehog a synanthropic and occurs more often in cultural landscapes rather than natural environments. The animals are nocturnal and solitary, spend the day in a nest to go out at night in search of food. Their diet consists mainly of insects, earthworms and centipedes.
System
Originally, the Northern White -breasted Hedgehog was assigned to the Hedgehog, and later he was united with the Southern White -breasted Hedgehog in a way. Recent studies suggest, however, that the two are not conspecific. Hutterer (2005 ) distinguishes provisionally the following subspecies of the Northern White-breasted Hedgehog:
- Erinaceus roumanicus roumanicus Barrett - Hamilton, 1900
- Erinaceus roumanicus bolkayi V. Martino, 1930
- Erinaceus roumanicus drozdovskii V. and E. Martino, 1933
- Erinaceus roumanicus nesiotes Bate, 1906
- Erinaceus roumanicus pallidus Stroganov, 1957