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''Paraechinus'' is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of hedgehogs. Members are small and
nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...
. The genus contains four species from
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
: * Desert hedgehog (''Paraechinus aethiopicus'') * Brandt's hedgehog (''Paraechinus hypomelas'') *
Indian hedgehog The Indian hedgehog (''Paraechinus micropus'') is a species of hedgehog native to India and Pakistan. It mainly lives in sandy desert areas but can be found in other environments. Description The Indian hedgehog can be compared to the long-eare ...
(''Paraechinus micropus'') * Bare-bellied hedgehog (''Paraechinus nudiventris'') Locomotory activity patterns The locomotory activity of the Desert hedgehog (''Paraechinus aethiopicus'') occurred during the dark phases of both long and short day cycles. Therefore this species is considered nocturnal. The ''Paraechinus hypomelas hypomelas'' is distributed throughout mainland Iran to the western side of the Indus River in Pakistan, suggesting the presence of a single subspecies ''Paraechinus hypomelas niger'' from the entire Arabian Peninsula. ''Paraechinus hypomelas blanfordi'' could potentially be considered a new sub-species because it deviates from the rest of them.


References

Hedgehogs Mammal genera {{erinaceidae-stub