Geographic Range
Indian hedgehogs,
Hemiechinus micropus
, are found in the Oriental region, specifically in portions of India and Pakistan.
In Pakistan these hedgehogs live in scattered local populations in the south. In India
they are native to the western part of the country, including the Punjab, and are
also found to the south in the Deccan region. This disjunct Deccan population may
have been introduced at some time, although that is uncertain.
Habitat
Indian hedgehogs favor hot and arid environments, typically the deserts in their range.
In Pakistan these hedgehogs inhabit tropical thorn forests as well as irrigated farmlands.
They require sufficient vegetative cover for their prey and for use as nest lining,
and are therefore unable to live in the harsher desert environments.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- desert or dune
- scrub forest
- Other Habitat Features
- agricultural
Physical Description
The dental formula for
H. micropus
is 3/3, 1/1, 3/2, 3/3. The upper incisors are separated by a gap and are long and
slightly projecting, while the cheek teeth have a four-sided occlusal surface and
raised cusps.
Indian hedgehogs are small and rounded like others of the family
Erinaceidae
, with a pointed nose and short legs.
Hemiechinus micropus
has dark legs with relatively small feet and claws. The ears are large and slightly
pointed, and the eyes are also well-developed. The species is noted for the broad
spineless area on the scalp and for their dark muzzle; the dark patch may take various
shapes but is distinct from the otherwise pale fur. The forehead fur is white, as
is the fur of the underbelly and sides. This coloration is standard for the species,
but melanism and albinism do occur. The fur of
H. micropus
has been reported as both thin or soft and dense, and the hairy tail is short.
Spines cover the dorsal skin and part of the sides, but not the face, tail, or legs.
The spines are grooved and lie smooth when a hedgehog is calm, or become extended
when a hedgehog is agitated. Spine colors vary from white to yellow with black and
dark brown bands, although one color will dominate and most spines commonly have only
one dark band.
Males of
H. micropus
are slightly larger than females. An adult male weighed 435 g, while a lactating
female weighed only 312 g. An adult measures 140-272 mm long for the head and body,
with an additional 10-40 mm for the tail. The young are born without spines, but have
dorsal tubercles in rows that become short pink-white spines within 6 hours of birth;
these spines achieve a length of 2-2.5 mm within 12 hours.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
Studies of desert hedgehogs, including
P. micropus
, often do not specify the species, particularly in work involving both
P. micropus
and long-eared hedgehogs (
Hemiechinus auritus
), which are also native to the region. Most published research on hedgehog mating
behaviors is of European hedgehog mating (
Erinaceus europaeus
) and there is little data available for
P. micropus
. However, most hedgehog species seem to have similar courtship rituals. These involve
a series of grunts and seemingly aggressive behaviors as the male herds the female.
The male mounts from behind and leaves after copulation.
- Mating System
- polygynandrous (promiscuous)
As with courtship, general data on reproduction are often vague or lacking. The precise
gestation and lactation periods are unknown for this species and the timing of breeding
and the birth of young range widely.
Hemiechinus micropus
will breed once per year, generally in the spring or summer between April and September.
Populations in Pakistan breed during the monsoon season and the females give birth
between July and September, when food is readily available. Males are sexually ready
well before the mating season.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
In the wild, female Indian hedgehosg will have a litter of 1-2 babies at a time, with
as many as five in one captive litter. The young are altricial, with closed eyes until
21 days after birth, and can roll into a defensive posture in as little as one week.
The mother nurses from her four pairs of nipples while lying on her side. If not cannibalized,
the young have a good survival rate.
Several authors have researched the question of cannibalism in
H. micropus
. If a male is present, he may eat a baby immediately after birth, and even the mother
may eat the babies. A captive female Indian hedgehog ate one of her five babies as
soon as it was born and was only prevented from consuming the others by their immediate
removal.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
There are no data available on the lifespan of H. micropus .
Behavior
Hedgehogs are generally solitary animals. Males and females meet only to breed, and
the male invests no parental care, possibly owing to the frequency of unsuccessful
copulations and pregnancies. With the exception of nursing mothers, only one hedgehog
lives in a burrow at a time, although three shared one burrow in captivity.
Hemiechinus micropus
is nocturnal, and will wander while hunting. They do not hibernate, but may seem
to disappear in winter and can become torpid if food or water are scarce. Little is
known about an individual’s range, but a good walking speed is 305 mm/s, and a scurrying
hedgehog has been clocked at a speed of 635 mm/s.
Hemiechinus micropus
uses its forelimbs to dig a burrow, which it will inhabit for a year. One measured
burrow was 457 mm long, with a single opening. The hole is located under brush, and
they will use burrows made by other hedgehogs if vacant. The nest may be lined with
grasses and other plant material, and hedgehogs may also bring food back to the nest,
although they do not store food for the winter months.
Indian hedgehogs also exhibit the self-anointing and defensive posture behaviors seen
in other hedgehog species. Self-anointing refers to the hedgehog spreading its own
saliva onto its back spines and fur after tasting or smelling something unfamiliar.
This action is found in both sexes of all ages, and may occur at any time of year.
The reason behind the behavior remains unknown; hypotheses include scent marking,
sexual stimuli, and grooming.
Rolling into a ball allows the hedgehog to protect itself from curious predators with
its coat of sharp spines. Young hedgehogs can do this within a few weeks, and many
muscles are devoted to this behavior. A rolled up hedgehog draws its limbs inward
and tucks its head between the forelimbs, creating a ball of spines with no fur or
soft tissue on the surface. The muscles used for this are mainly striated, meaning
that the action is voluntary; however, a few of the muscles are unstriated, so it
is possible that rolling is partially instinctive and involuntary.
Communication and Perception
Hedgehogs are mostly solitary and silent, but they do make a few sounds when in contact
with other animals. Courting hedgehog females make loud snorting sounds to males,
and poking a nest with a stick will obtain a hissing response from the inhabitant.
A disturbed
H. micropus
will roll up and grunt or hiss, and in one study a captive mother made a squeaking
sound even when alone with her young.
Food Habits
Indian hedgehogs feed primarily on insects, with beetles as the preferred prey, but
will also eat worms and slugs, small vertebrates, scorpions, and the eggs of ground-nesting
birds. Plants do not form any part of the diet, even for the water they might contain
in a desert environment. Vertebrates are eaten in their entirety, including the bones,
and these hedgehogs can break open small eggs. Along with the previously cited examples
of eating the newly born babies,
H. micropus
may also cannibalize sick or weak individuals, although this behavior is more common
if the prey animal is already dead.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- mammals
- reptiles
- eggs
- carrion
- insects
- terrestrial non-insect arthropods
- terrestrial worms
Predation
The known predators of Indian hedgehogs include foxes (
Vulpes
spp.), Indian gray mongooses (
Herpestes edwardsi
), and possibly also rock-horned owls (
Bubo bubo turcomanus
). These predators must be either quick or clever to catch hedgehogs before they
manage to roll up.
Ecosystem Roles
The role of Indian hedgehogs in the ecosystem have not been studied, but it might
be presumed that these hedgehogs have a role in controlling the populations of their
insect prey and in providing food for their predators.
- mites, ticks
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Since
H. micropus
lives in relatively uninhabited areas, it has had a lesser effect on humans compared
to
Erinaceus europaeus
. As an insectivore it does control the populations of some insects, but does not
affect agriculture to a large extent because of the desert environment. This species
has not entered the pet trade to a large extent, but data are lacking, as is specific
information on the use of the animal as food for humans.
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
The potential negative effects of
H. micropus
have not been well studied. Like European and African hedgehogs,
H. micropus
can carry pests such as ticks and mites, but these do not usually transfer to humans.
Although hedgehogs have a reputation for stealing eggs, the eggs of chickens are too
large for
H. micropus
.
Conservation Status
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) have no listings for Hemiechinus .
Other Comments
Hemiechinus micropus
was formerly known as
Paraechinus micropus
. In the Tamil language the animal is called Mollu-yelli.
Additional Links
Contributors
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Megan Seitz (author), Michigan State University, Barbara Lundrigan (editor, instructor), Michigan State University.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- desert or dunes
-
in deserts low (less than 30 cm per year) and unpredictable rainfall results in landscapes dominated by plants and animals adapted to aridity. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Deserts can be cold or warm and daily temperates typically fluctuate. In dune areas vegetation is also sparse and conditions are dry. This is because sand does not hold water well so little is available to plants. In dunes near seas and oceans this is compounded by the influence of salt in the air and soil. Salt limits the ability of plants to take up water through their roots.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- agricultural
-
living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.
- polygynandrous
-
the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- solitary
-
lives alone
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- carrion
-
flesh of dead animals.
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
References
Finn, F. 1929. Sterndale's Mammalia of India . Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co..
Gupta, B., H. Sharma. 1961. Birth and early development of Indian hedgehogs. Journal of Mammalogy , 42: 398-399.
Gupta, B. 1961. Investigations of the rolling mechanism in the Indian hedgehog. Journal of Mammalogy , 42: 365-371.
Nowalk, R. 1999. Walker's mammals of the world . London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Prakash, I. 1960. Breeding of mammals in Rajasthan Desert, India. Journal of Mammalogy , 41: 386-389.
Prater, S. 1965. The book of Indian animals . Madras, India: Diocesan Press.
Reeve, N. 1994. Hedgehogs . London: T& A D Poyser Ltd..
Stocker, L. 1987. The complete hedgehog . London: Chatto & Windus.