The bare-bellied hedgehog (''Paraechinus nudiventris''), also known as the Madras hedgehog, is a species of

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to dry arid regions and scrubby jungles in southeastern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. As it was believed to be rare, it was formerly listed as Vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. It is now known to be locally common in the Indian states of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and Tamil Nadu , mostly in Erode and Tirupur, resulting in its new listing as a species of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

. Hedgehogs are protected species under schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act (1972). It was also found in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

and

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

districts of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Madras hedgehogs are hunted locally in India for subsistence food and medicinal purposes. They are wildly perceived to be a cure for tuberculosis and asthma, as well as offer relief against coughs.

Characteristics

The bare-bellied hedgehog has a head to body length , a short tail of , and weighs . It reaches sexual maturity in about 10 months and gives birth to 4-6 young per litter.

References

Cheruvat, Dinesan; Radhakrishnan, C. and Muhamed Jafer Palot. 2006. Handbook on Mammals of Kerala : 1–154. (Published by the Director, ZooL Surv. India, Kolkata) Pradesh, U. (2016). Medicinal uses and trade of Madras HedgehogsParaechinus nudiventris in Tamil Nadu, India. ''Traffic Bulletin'', ''28''(1), 7. bare-bellied hedgehog Mammals of India Fauna of Andhra Pradesh Fauna of Tamil Nadu bare-bellied hedgehog {{erinaceidae-stub

Characteristics

See also

References