大耳猬
- The Afghan hedgehog can survive without food and water for up to 10 weeks, as laboratory studies have shown.
- The Afghan hedgehog is resistant to overheating and many toxins, including snake, bee, and wasp venom. It is 45 times more resistant to viper venom than a guinea pig.
- The mass of female Afghan hedgehogs ranges from 200 to 505 g, which is twice less than that of the common hedgehog. The mass of males reaches up to 430 g.
- It can curl into a ball and present its spines.
- The long-eared hedgehog has very large ears that help it cool down.
- In captivity it has lived about 5–7 years.
- It hibernates in winter.
- Litters usually contain 3–6 young.
- The hedgehog is nocturnal.
- The hedgehog can produce snorting sounds.
年龄
The common long-eared hedgehog has a typical lifespan of from 2 to 7 years, with a maximum recorded lifespan of 7 years and 7 months, and a theoretical lifespan ranging from 3 years and 10 months to 7 years and 7 months; the species reaches sexual maturity from 5 months and 1 week to 9 months. The embryo develops inside the mother, and the young are born pink and blind, receiving nourishment from their mother's milk while their spines appear several hours after birth; this infant stage lasts from 1 month to 1 month and 3 weeks. Following this, the adult stage begins, lasting from 1 year and 11 months to 5 years and 6 months, during which the individual forages for food independently and is capable of reproduction.
表型
The African hedgehog possesses a characteristic appearance: males and females have long ears, as well as short paws with claws for digging burrows. The species has an acute sense of smell on its face, helping it to find insects underground. The body of an adult African hedgehog is protected by hard spines, while the young are born with soft white spines that quickly harden.
生理学
The body length of the Afghan hedgehog ranges from 14 to 28 centimeters, and its mass varies from 257 to 398 grams; the adult stage has a body mass ranging from 200 to 450 grams and a body length from 14 to 28 centimeters. During the embryo stage, the body mass is from 1 to 8 grams and the body length is from 1 millimeter to 1.5 centimeters; the young have a body mass from 10 to 45 grams and a body length from 5 to 10 centimeters.
栖息地
The common long-eared hedgehog inhabits elevations up to 1.6 kilometers above sea level and is found in temperate grasslands with abundant grasses and few trees, temperate mixed forests featuring oaks, birches, and maples, flooded meadows where water frequently covers the ground, Mediterranean forests with hot, dry summers and warm, rainy winters, deserts and dry scrublands characterized by extreme heat and infrequent rainfall, as well as high mountain and tundra landscapes, deserts and semi-deserts, and terrestrial forests; the species thrives in climates ranging from cold steppes with sparse trees and grasses to hot steppes with abundant grasses, very arid conditions with rare rainfall, cold and nearly arid environments, and extremely hot and dry climates with significant temperature differences between day and night.
庇护所
The common long-eared hedgehog inhabits dry soil or beneath rocks, utilizing a burrow as its shelter. The species uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for protection, nesting, resting, hibernation, and shielding from the sun.
地理
The long-eared hedgehog is found within the Palearctic biogeographical region, specifically inhabiting sclerophyllous and mixed Mediterranean forests of southwestern Iberia, Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppes.
食性
The long-eared hedgehog primarily consumes insects and other small animals, locating them by scent and sound; the species hunts nocturnally, digging into the earth with its paws and seizing prey with its teeth. Its diet includes insects, larvae, worms, snails, small lizards, rodents, insect larvae, and small reptiles, with a daily food requirement ranging from 25 to 55 grams. The young consume milk, while the species’ prey consists of beetles, flies, Hymenoptera, butterflies, amphipods, ribbon worms, snails, nematodes, bedbugs, Orthoptera, dragonflies, and caddisflies. The feeding strategy involves active hunting and searching for food.
繁殖
The common long-eared hedgehogs inhabit and develop on land, away from bodies of water, and their young develop in nests built on or near the ground. The female’s gestation period lasts about forty days, after which she gives birth to live young on land, not hatching from eggs or larvae. A litter has 3 to 7 young, and the mother cares for them in a nest located directly on the surface of the ground until they begin foraging independently. The species reaches maturity from 11 months to 1 year and 1 month. The female produces litters with an interval of 1 year, and she has 3 to 7 offspring per litter. Embryonic development takes 1 month and 1 week. Only the mother exhibits parental care for the young.