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A skin-skeletal preparation Close-up of the last 5 millimetres (0.20 in) of a hedgehog spine (SEM microscopy) A hedgehog that feels threatened can roll into a tight ball. Hedgehogs roll into a tight spiny ball when threatened, tucking in the furry face, feet, and belly. [7] The hedgehog's back contains two large muscles that direct the quills.
Desert hedgehog in eastern Saudi Arabia. The desert hedgehog is one of the smallest hedgehogs. It is 140 to 280 mm (5.5 to 11 in) long and weighs about 280 to 510 g (10 to 18 oz). The spines on its back can be banded with coloring similar to the four-toed hedgehog. It is usually identified by its dark muzzle.
Like all other hedgehogs Erinaceus is nocturnal and seeks shelter in shrubs and burrows during the day. [6] The common defense mechanism is to roll into a ball with the spines facing outward. The action is done because of excess loose skin on the back of hedgehogs allows them to pull it around the rest of their body forming a ball.
Hedgehogs all have spines on their backs, while gymnures have fur. No erinaceids have population estimates, but the Hainan gymnure and Dinagat gymnure are categorized as endangered species . The twenty-four extant species of Erinaceidae are divided into two subfamilies: Erinaceinae , containing sixteen hedgehog species in five genera , and ...
The Southern African hedgehog is said to be a slow mover; however, when threatened, it can move surprisingly fast at 6 to 7 km/h (3.7 to 4.3 mph). [3] During the day, they typically stay where they live, which is an area that is covered with vegetation or in a hole in the ground.
The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles. [3] It is a generally common and widely distributed species that can survive across a wide range of habitat types ...
Erinaceidae / ˌ ɛr ɪ n ə ˈ s iː ɪ d iː / is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats.Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla.
Pelvic fin of a Java barb, a ray-finned fish The short fin spines on a coelacanth, a lobe-finned fish A lionfish, with venomous spines The stinger on a stingray's tail. Spines are found in the fins of most bony fishes, particularly actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes), who have folding fan-like fin made of spreading bony spines called lepidotrichia or "rays" covered by thin stretches of skin.