Erinaceidae

Erinaceidae
Temporal range:
Erinaceus europaeus (European hedgehog)
Neohylomys hainanensis (Hainan gymnure)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Erinaceidae
G. Fischer, 1814
Type genus
Erinaceus
Linnaeus, 1758
Subfamilies & genera

Erinaceidae /ˌɛrɪnəˈsɪd/ is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyphla has been shown to be monophyletic; Soricomorpha is paraphyletic because both Soricidae and Talpidae share a more recent common ancestor with Erinaceidae than with solenodons.

Erinaceidae contains the well-known hedgehogs (subfamily Erinaceinae) of Eurasia and Africa and the gymnures or moonrats (subfamily Galericinae) of Southeast Asia. This family was once considered part of the order Insectivora, but that polyphyletic order is now considered defunct.

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