''Atelerix'' is a genus 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 ...
in the family
Erinaceidae. It contains four species, all native to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
Species
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Four-toed hedgehog (''Atelerix albiventris'')
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North African hedgehog (''Atelerix algirus'')
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Southern African hedgehog (''Atelerix frontalis'')
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Somali hedgehog (''Atelerix sclateri'')
The ''Atelerix'' diversified from its family because of geographical isolation during Pleistocene climate changes. This being a type of vicariance separation from the Niger River. This allowed the ''Erinaceidane'' family to be more diverse.
References
Mammal genera
Taxa named by Auguste Pomel
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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