Hemiechinus auritus (Gmelin 1770)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Erinaceomorpha, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 212-219 : 215

Hemiechinus auritus (Gmelin 1770)

[Erinaceus] auritus Gmelin 1770 , Nova Comm. Acad. Sci. Petropoli, 14: 519.

Type Locality: S Russia, "in regione Astrachanensi", (= Astrakhan, 46°21'N, 48°03'E).

Vernacular Names: Long-eared Hedgehog.

Subspecies: :

Subspecies Hemiechinus auritus subsp. auritus Gmelin 1770

Subspecies Hemiechinus auritus subsp. albulus Stoliczka 1872

Subspecies Hemiechinus auritus subsp. aegyptius E. Geoffroy 1803

Subspecies Hemiechinus auritus subsp. libycus Ehrenberg 1833

Subspecies Hemiechinus auritus subsp. megalotis Blyth 1845

Distribution: Steppe zone from E Ukraine to Mongolia in the north and from Libya to W Pakistan in the south.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Corbet (1988:159) accepted albulus, auritus , and megalotis as valid subspecies; megalotis was formerly regarded as a distinct species but intergrades with auritus in Afghanistan; see Niethammer (1973) and Morshed and Patton (2002), who found a small genetic distance between the forms auritus and megalotis within Iran. Osborn and Helmy (1980:57-64) recognized two subspecies within Egypt, aegyptius and libycus. The form of Cyprus (dorotheae) may be also distinct but was probably introduced by man ( Boye, 1991:115). Arabian records reviewed by Harrison and Bates (1991) and supplemented by Benda and Obuch (2001). Turkish long-eared hedgehogs have 2N=48 chromosomes, with a NFa ranging from 90 to 92 ( Colak et al., 1998; Kefelioglu, 1998). For synonyms see Corbet,(1988) and Frost et al.(1991).