Erinaceidae

West European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus, photographed by Hrald.

Belongs within: Erinaceomorpha.

The Erinaceidae include the hedgehogs and their spine-less cousins, the gymnures. Erinaceids are first recorded from the Middle Eocene, with Entomolestes from North America belonging to the Tupaiodontinae. The Oligocene saw the appearance of the other subfamilies, with Proterix in North America and the remainder (including the tupaiodontine genera Tupaiodon and Ictopidium) in Eurasia. Representatives of the living subfamilies Erinaceinae and Galericinae, as well as the Brachyericinae, reached Africa and North America during the Miocene (Butler 1988).

Characters (from Butler 1988): P⁴/M₁ shear; P⁴ with high paracone and long metacrista; M₁ enlarged with extended trigonid, paraconid forwardly placed as high paracristid. Posterior molars reduced; paraconid on M_2-3 reduced to transverse crest at level of talonid of preceding tooth; M₂ metacrista very short. Zygomatic process of maxilla shifted forward.

<==Erinaceidae
    |--Tupaiodontinae B88
    |    |--Tupaiodon Matthew & Granger 1924 B88, N85
    |    |    |--T. minutus B88
    |    |    `--T. morrisi B88
    |    |--Ictopidium B88
    |    |    |--I. lechei Zdansky 1930 GH99
    |    |    `--I. tatalgolensis B88
    |    |--Entomolestes B88
    |    |    |--E. grangeri B88
    |    |    |--E. nitens M68
    |    |    `--E. siegfriedti M68
    |    `--Zaraalestes GH99
    `--+--Proterix Matthew 1903 B88, G68
       |    |--*P. loomisi Matthew 1903 G68
       |    `--P. bicuspis (Macdonald 1951) [=Apternodus bicuspis] G68
       `--+--Neurogymnurus G68 [Neurogymnurinae B88]
          |--Galericinae B88
          |    |--Tetracus B88
          |    |--Lanthanotherium N85
          |    `--Galerix [incl. Pseudogalerix] N85
          |         |--G. africanus Butler 1956 Bu78
          |         |--G. exilis G68
          |         `--G. socialis N85
          `--+--Brachyericinae [Brachyericini] B88
             |    |--Brachyerix G68
             |    |--Metechinus G68
             |    |--Dimylechinus G68
             |    `--Exallerix B88
             `--Erinaceinae B88
                  |--Protechinus salis Lavocat 1961 Bu78
                  |--Mioechinus oeningensis Bu78
                  |--Postpalerinaceus vireti Crusafont & Villalta 1948 Bu78
                  |--Paraechinus micropus Bu78, V02
                  |--Palaeoscaptor N85
                  |--Amphechinus G68 [incl. Palaeoerinaceus Bu78]
                  |    |--A. edwardsi M60
                  |    |--A. kansuensis M60
                  |    |--A. minimus M60
                  |    `--A. rusingensis Butler 1956 Bu78
                  |--Gymnurechinus Bu78
                  |    |--G. camptolophus Butler 1956 Bu78
                  |    |--G. leakeyi Butler 1956 Bu78
                  |    `--G. songhorensis Butler 1956 Bu78
                  |--Hemiechinus Bu78
                  |    |--H. aethiopicus IT07
                  |    |--H. auritus V02
                  |    |--H. collaris IT07
                  |    |--H. hypomelas IT07
                  |    |--H. megalotis GM71
                  |    |--H. micropus IT07
                  |    `--H. nudiventris IT07
                  `--Erinaceus Linnaeus 1758 P04
                       |  i. s.: E. amurensis IT07
                       |         E. concolor IT07
                       |         E. europaeus Linnaeus 1758 K92
                       |         E. frontalis Bi78 [=Atelerix frontalis IT07]
                       |         E. sansaniensis Bu78
                       `--E. (Atelerix) Bu78
                            |--E. (A.) albiventris Wagner 1841 Bu78, K92
                            |--E. (A.) algirus Bu78
                            |--E. (A.) broomi (Broom 1937) [incl. Atelerix major Broom 1937] Bu78
                            `--E. (A.) sclateri Bu78

Erinaceidae incertae sedis:
  Echinosorex AM02 [Echinosoricinae Bu78]
    `--E. gymnurus AM02
  Hylomys M58
    |--H. hainanensis IT07
    |--H. sinensis IT07
    `--H. suillus M94
  Podogymnura IT07
    |--P. aureospinula IT07
    `--P. truei IT07
  Mesechinus IT07
    |--M. dauuricus IT07
    `--M. hughi IT07
  Neotetracus M58
  Meterix latidens M60

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AM02] Asher, R. J., M. C. McKenna, R. J. Emry, A. R. Tabrum & D. G. Kron. 2002. Morphology and relationships of Apternodus and other extinct, zalambdodont, placental mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 273: 1-117.

[Bi78] Bigalke, R. C. 1978. Present-day mammals of Africa. In Evolution of African Mammals (V. J. Maglio & H. B. S. Cooke, eds) pp. 1-16. Harvard University Press: Cambridge (Massachusetts).

[Bu78] Butler, P. M. 1978. Insectivora and Chiroptera. In Evolution of African Mammals (V. J. Maglio & H. B. S. Cooke, eds) pp. 56-68. Harvard University Press: Cambridge (Massachusetts).

[B88] Butler, P. M. 1988. Phylogeny of the insectivores. In The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods, vol. 2. Mammals (M. J. Benton, ed.) pp. 117-141. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[G68] Gawne, C. E. 1968. The genus Proterix (Insectivora, Erinaceidae) of the Upper Oligocene of North America. American Museum Novitates 2315: 1-26.

[GH99] Gheerbrant, E. & J.-L. Hartenberger. 1999. Nouveau mammifère insectivore (?Lipotyphla, ?Erinaceomorpha) de l’Eocène inférieur de Chambi (Tunisie). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 73 (1-2): 143-156.

[GM71] Goodman, M., & G. W. Moore. 1971. Immunodiffusion systematics of the primates I. The Catarrhini. Systematic Zoology 20 (1): 19-62.

[IT07] Isaac, N. J. B., S. T. Turvey, B. Collen, C. Waterman & J. E. M. Baillie. 2007. Mammals on the EDGE: conservation priorities based on threat and phylogeny. PLoS One 2 (3): e296.

[K92] Klompen, J. S. H. 1992. Phylogenetic relationships in the mite family Sarcoptidae (Acari: Astigmata). Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 180: i-vi, 1-154.

[M94] MacPhee, R. D. E. 1994. Morphology, adaptations, and relationships of Plesiorycteropus, and a diagnosis of a new order of eutherian mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 220: 1-214.

[M58] McDowell, S. B., Jr. 1958. The Greater Antillean insectivores. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 115 (3): 113-214.

[M60] McKenna, M. C. 1960. The Geolabidinae: a new subfamily of early Cenozoic erinaceoid insectivores. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 37 (2): 131-164.

[M68] McKenna, M. C. 1968. Leptacodon, an American Paleocene nyctithere (Mammalia, Insectivora). American Museum Novitates 2317: 1-12.

[N85] Novacek, M. J. 1985. The Sespedectinae, a new subfamily of hedgehog-like insectivores. American Museum Novitates 2822: 1-24.

[P04] Popov, V. V. 2004. Pliocene small mammals (Mammalia, Lipotyphla, Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Rodentia) from Muselievo (north Bulgaria). Geodiversitas 26 (3): 403-491.

[V02] Vyas, R. 2002. Pale hedgehog Paraechinus micropus in southeastern Rajasthan. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 99 (3): 501.