The southern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus concolor''), sometimes referred to as white-bellied hedgehog or white-chested hedgehog, is a

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 introductio ...

native to

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

and

Southwestern Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

Description

It is very similar in lifestyle and appearance to the

European hedgehog The European hedgehog (''Erinaceus europaeus''), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles.Harris, S. ...

(''E. europaeus''), but it has a white spot on its chest.

Taxonomy

For a long time these two species were considered to be one. The

northern white-breasted hedgehog The northern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus roumanicus'') is a species of hedgehog. Distribution The range of the species extends in the west as far as Poland, Austria and the former Yugoslavia, and south to Greece and the Adriatic Islands, ...

of Eastern Europe and Russia was formerly recognized as a subspecies of the southern white-breasted hedgehog but newer investigations see both as different species. The southern white-breasted hedgehog and European hedgehog can hybridize.

Behaviour

Unlike its European counterpart, the southern white-breasted hedgehog never digs dens. It prefers building grass nests in secluded places.

References

southern white-breasted hedgehog The southern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus concolor''), sometimes referred to as white-bellied hedgehog or white-chested hedgehog, is a hedgehog native to Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Description It is very similar in lifestyle an ...

Mammals of Europe Mammals of Western Asia Mammals of the Middle East Mammals of Turkey Least concern biota of Asia Least concern biota of Europe

{{erinaceidae-stub