The long-eared hedgehog (''Hemiechinus auritus'') is a species of
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduct ...
native to
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...
n countries and some countries of the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. The long-eared hedgehog lives in burrows that it either makes or finds and is distinguished by its long ears. It is considered one of the smallest Middle Eastern hedgehogs.
[Qumsiyeh, M. B.. (1996]
Mammals of the Holy Land
Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock Texas. pp. 64–66 . This hedgehog is insectivorous
but may also feed on small vertebrates and plants.
In captivity they can live for over 7 years.
Since the long-eared hedgehog is naturally parasite prone and can carry diseases as bad as
plague, it is highly recommended that, if kept as a pet, it should be purchased from a respected dealer. Wild hedgehogs have been found to carry ''
Rhipicephalus sanguineus'', the
brown dog tick, which can transmit
Boutonneuse fever
Boutonneuse fever (also called, Mediterranean spotted fever, ''fièvre boutonneuse'', Kenya tick typhus, Indian tick typhus, Marseilles fever, or Astrakhan fever) is a fever as a result of a rickettsial infection caused by the bacterium ''Rickett ...
.
Description
The length of the head and body of the long-eared hedgehog is approximately 120–270 mm, and the tail is 10–50 mm long.
[Ballenger, L. (1999)]
"Hemiechinus auritus"
Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 28, 2011 The skull is about 38–48 mm long. Unlike other species the
pterygoids of the skull do not inflate and they do not relay information to the
tympanic membrane
In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the ai ...
. The ears of this hedgehog are 30–45 mm longer than the closest spine.
They are used for heat radiation in the desert. Long-eared hedgehogs have great senses of hearing and smell that they use to hunt out food and detect predators.
The long-eared hedgehog's spines are embedded in a unique muscle sheath that forms a bag-like structure which acts as protection for the hedgehog. They can withdraw into this pouch and erect their spines out to fend off predators if need be.
The dorsal spines are white on the tip with darker banding below. They do not have dark and light areas on their faces. Also they do not have a gap of spines on the back of their necks that is common to other species of hedgehogs.
The long-eared hedgehog has a light-colored underside along with whitish hairs on the tips of their ears. The tops and heels of their feet are covered with hair but the soles are bare.
[Colak, E., Yigit, N., Sozen, M. & Ozkurt, S. (1998)]
A study on the long-eared hedgehog, Hemiechinus auritus (Gmelin, 1770) (Mammalia: Insectivora) in Turkey
. Tr. J. of Zoology. 22, 131–136.
The long-eared hedgehog is smaller than the
West European hedgehog; it weighs between 250–400 grams,
and is much faster. It is less likely to curl up in a ball when approached by predators and will rather try and outrun or leap at predators with their relatively short needles.
Diet
The long-eared hedgehog is an insectivore; 70% of its diet consists of insects, with some worms and a tiny amount of slugs and snails. The idea that these animals eat ''only'' slugs and snails is a myth; this type of food makes up only about 5% of their natural diet. The breakdown of a wild hedgehog's diet is as follows: 30% beetles, 25% caterpillars, 11% earthworms, 10% bird eggs, 5% mammal meat, 5% slugs and snails, 3% millipedes, 3% earwigs, 2% bees, 1% bird meat and 5% that has been undefined by researchers. This diet breakdown is not specific to ''Hemiechinus auritus'' but a generalization about most hedgehog species.
More specific to this species, ''Hemiechinus auritus'' is an insectivore that forages in the early evening looking for insects,
myriapods
Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial.
The fossil record of myriapods reaches back into the late Silurian, ...
,
gastropods
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...
, batrachians (amphibians), small vertebrates and plants. It may even eat snakes or other vertebrates by curling up to protect its underside as it eats the struggling prey. They prefer to live near a water source.
However, if this is not available they depend on their food source for their water intake
The long-eared hedgehog is active throughout much of the year and hibernates for shorter periods of time. The longest reported hibernation is 40 days.
This hibernation may come in the summer or the winter. Also this hedgehog will travel up to 9 km during the night in search of food.
Predators
The long-eared hedgehog is hunted by the
Eurasian eagle owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and female ...
and makes up about 14% of the predatory birds' diet.
It has been reported as prey for the Pharaoh eagle owl in the Azraq Nature Reserve in Jordan.
The Long-eared hedgehog is a host of the
Acanthocephala
Acanthocephala (Greek , ', thorn + , ', head) is a phylum of parasitic worms known as acanthocephalans, thorny-headed worms, or spiny-headed worms, characterized by the presence of an eversible proboscis, armed with spines, which it uses to p ...
n intestinal parasite ''
Moniliformis cryptosaudi''.
Distribution and habitat
''Hemiechinus auritus'' has a range that extends from the eastern Mediterranean region, through the arid and steppe areas of Asia to western Pakistan in the south; and from eastern Ukraine through Mongolia (Gobi desert), to China (Xinjiang).
This species is native to the following countries:
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
,
China,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
,
Syria,
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
and
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
.
The long-eared hedgehog prefers to stay in intermediate climates, avoiding the hot desert and the northern colder mountain areas. They also prefer areas with moderate rainfall of 100–400 mm.
The long-eared hedgehog inhabits a few different types of dry steppes, semi-deserts, and deserts. It prefers dry river valleys, gullies, forest shelter belts, abandoned irrigation ditches and shrubby areas, and often settles in oases and around human settlements (sometimes in cultivated habitats).
They live in burrows that they dig under bushes with a length of 45 cm long with only one opening. They may also inhabit abandoned burrows of other small mammals. They are nocturnal solitary hedgehogs. During the day they are found resting under rocks, hollows or rock piles.
Reproduction
The long-eared hedgehog only breeds once a year in the summer months of July through September. The presence of spines does not inhibit this species ability to reproduce.
Long-eared hedgehogs gestation period is 35–42 days. The female has 8–10 nipples and often has 2–3 babies.
After just one week the babies start eating solid food. They are born with very few spines and within five hours after birth the spines have doubled in size. After two weeks the babies are fully covered with their new spines.
Impact
Long eared hedgehogs can be agriculturally beneficial since they eat harmful organisms like termites and scorpions. They are not found to damage crops since they live in areas that are mostly waste land and desert.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1459
long-eared hedgehog
Mammals of Central Asia
Mammals of Western Asia
Mammals of Afghanistan
Mammals of Azerbaijan
Fauna of Iran
Fauna of Egypt
Fauna of Libya
long-eared hedgehog