biology

List of erinaceids

List of erinaceids is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of erinaceids rather than just read about it. In short: Erinaceidae is a family of small mammals in the order Eulipotyphla. A member of this family is called an erinaceid, and the family includes hedgehogs and gymnures.

Key takeaways

List of erinaceids belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of erinaceids to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of erinaceids from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Erinaceidae is a family of small mammals in the order Eulipotyphla. A member of this family is called an erinaceid, and the family includes hedgehogs and gymnures. Erinaceidae is one of four families in the order Eulipotyphla. They are found in Africa, Europe, and Asia, primarily in forests, shrublands, savannas, and grasslands, though some species can also be found in deserts, rocky areas, or caves. They range in size from the gymnures in the Hylomys genus, at 9 cm (4 in) plus a 1 cm (0.4 in) tail, to the moonrat, at 46 cm (18 in) plus a 30 cm (12 in) tail. Erinaceids are omnivorous and primarily eat insects and small vertebrates such as lizards, though they also consume plants, eggs, and fungi. Hedgehogs all have spines on their backs, while gymnures have fur. No erinaceids have population estimates, but the Dinagat gymnure is categorized as an endangered species. The twenty-four extant species of Erinaceidae are divided into two subfamilies: Erinaceinae, containing sixteen hedgehog species in five genera, and Galericinae, containing eight gymnure species in five genera. A few extinct prehistoric Erinaceidae species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.

Conventions

The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the erinaceid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.

Classification

The family Erinaceidae consists of twenty-four extant species in two subfamilies: Erinaceinae, containing sixteen hedgehog species in five genera, and Galericinae, containing eight gymnure species in five genera. Family Erinaceidae

Subfamily Erinaceinae Genus Atelerix (African hedgehogs): four species Genus Erinaceus (woodland hedgehogs): four species Genus Hemiechinus (long-eared hedgehogs): two species Genus Mesechinus (steppe hedgehogs): two species Genus Paraechinus (desert hedgehogs): four species Subfamily Galericinae Genus Echinosorex (moonrat): one species Genus Hylomys (gymnures): three species Genus Neohylomys (Hainan gymnure): one species Genus Neotetracus (shrew gymnure): one species Genus Podogymnura (Philippine gymnures): two species

Erinaceids The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists. The range shown is only for wild populations; domesticated hedgehogs, which are usually four-toed hedgehogs, North African hedgehogs, or hybrids of the two, may live outside these areas.

Subfamily Erinaceinae

Subfamily Galericinae

References

Sources

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of erinaceids

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of erinaceids claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of erinaceids before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of erinaceids ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of erinaceids

In research: List of erinaceids appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of erinaceids in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of erinaceids is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Erinaceidae, Lists of animal species, Lists of eulipotyphlans, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of erinaceids outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of erinaceids in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of erinaceids means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of erinaceids out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of erinaceids in simple terms?

Erinaceidae is a family of small mammals in the order Eulipotyphla. A member of this family is called an erinaceid, and the family includes hedgehogs and gymnures.

Why does List of erinaceids matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of erinaceids?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of erinaceids.