Hedgehogs

portable antitank, antipersonnel, and anti-landing obstacles. Antitank hedgehogs are made of reinforced concrete, section steel, or rails. Individual hedgehogs can be joined by steel beams and wire. Antipersonnel hedgehogs are made of three pickets, each sharpened at both ends, 1.5 m long, and attached at the ends and at half-way points by barbed wire. Antitank and antipersonnel hedgehogs, set in several ranks, are used to block roads and streets. Antilanding hedgehogs are set in the water at depths of 1.8–2.5 m at points of possible sea (lake) landings.

(Erinaceidae), a family of mammals of the order Insect!vora, containing 20 species in eight genera, divided into two subfamilies: the gymnure (Echinosoricinae) and the spiny hedgehog (Erinaceinae). The spiny hedgehogs have short tails, spines on the back, and a subcutaneous ring muscle that turns the body into a ball upon contraction. Hedgehogs are found in Europe, temperate latitudes of Asia, southern Asia (India), and Africa. There are three genera. Four species are known in the USSR: long-eared, Brandt’s, European, and Daur hedgehogs.

The long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus) has long ears and soft white fur on the underside of its body. Length, 15–19 cm. It lives in southeastern part of the European USSR, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, and Middle Asia.

Brandt’s hedgehog (Paraechinus hypomelas) has a spot on its vertex that has no needles. Length, 22–27 cm; tail, 23–27 mm. The needles reach 4 cm. This species is found in Central Asia.

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) has small ears, and the underside of the body is brownish. Length, 20–25 cm; tail, 20–35 mm. It lives in the European USSR, except for the north, and in the Far East, usually in forests, gardens, thick underbrush, river floodplains, and steppes. It makes its nest under hedges, in pits, or in shallow burrows and hibernates in winter. The European hedgehog feeds primarily on insects but also eats small vertebrates (including snakes) and an insignificant amount of plant life. It is beneficial because it destroys harmful insects.

The Daur hedgehog (E. dauricus) is found in the Transbaikalia.