|
Class:
|
Mammalia
|
|
Order:
|
Artiodactyla
|
|
Family:
|
Suidae
|
|
Genus:
|
Echinops
|
|
Species:
|
Telfairi
|
|
Lifespan:
|
About 5 – 10 years, recorded up 20 years
|
|
Gestation:
|
Approximately 49 days
|
|
Number of Young:
|
Between 1 – 10 young
|
|
Size:
|
7 in. long
|
|
Weight:
|
7 oz
|
|
Reproduction:
|
Females have a cloaca – a single reproductive, intestinal, and urinary opening, unlike most mammals which have 2 or 3 separate openings
|
|
Range:
|
Found in southern and southwestern Madagascar
|
|
Habitat:
|
PPrefer dry areas such as dry forests, scrublands, agricultural areas, dry coastal regions, and semi-desert regions
|
|
Diet: Wild
|
Insectivores, hunting at night using their phenomenal senses of smell and hearing. Eats insects and their larvae, eggs, spiders, and occasionally fruit
|
|
Diet: Zoo
|
Specially formulated pellets and live insects.
|
|
Description:
|
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrecs look very similar to hedgehogs, with a fuzzy pale underbelly and a back covered in course brown spines. They are much smaller than hedgehogs, with a more elongated snout.
|
Fun Facts:
-
Sometimes called small Madagascar hedgehog tenrecs
-
Were named Echinops telfairi to honor a British naturalist named Charles Telfair Are 24 species of tenrecs – some are adapted for life in trees, on the ground, or in the water
-
Most species of tenrecs live in Madagascar, but some can be found on mainland Africa and the Comoro Islands
-
One difference between tenrecs and hedgehogs is that hedgehogs hiss at potential predators when rolled into a ball, while tenrecs will come out of the ball to bite and attack persistent threats
-
Its closest relatives are the golden moles, but it is actually found in a group called Afrotheria that contains tenrecs, elephants, aardvarks, dewgongs, hyrax, elephants and manatees.
