Paraechinus aethiopicus (Ehrenberg 1832)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Erinaceomorpha, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 212-219 : 216

Paraechinus aethiopicus (Ehrenberg 1832)

[Erinaceus] aethiopicus Ehrenberg 1832 , Symb. Phys. Mamm., Vol. 2: sig. k, footnote.

Type Locality: Sudan, "In desertis dongolanis habitat".

Vernacular Names: Desert Hedgehog.

Subspecies: :

Subspecies Paraechinus aethiopicus subsp. aethiopicus Ehrenberg 1832

Subspecies Paraechinus aethiopicus subsp. albatus Thomas 1922

Subspecies Paraechinus aethiopicus subsp. deserti Loche 1858

Subspecies Paraechinus aethiopicus subsp. ludlowi Thomas 1919

Subspecies Paraechinus aethiopicus subsp. pectoralis Heuglin 1861

Distribution: Sahara from Mauritania to Egypt and Awash, Ethiopia; Arabian deserts from Syria to Yemen; insular populations on Djerba ( Tunisia), Bahrain and Tanb (Persian Gulf).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc) as Hemiechinus aethiopicus .

Discussion: Species and subspecies arrangement unclear; Corbet (1988:153-154) retained Arabian dorsalis (= pectoralis) as a subspecies, while Osborn and Helmy (1980) regarded aethiopicus , deserti and dorsalis as distinct species. Reviewed by Harrison and Bates (1991), who considered pectoralis, ludlowi and albatus as valid subspecies. Nader and Al-Safadi (1993), Kock and Ebenau (1996), and Benda and Obuch (2001) provided new distribution records. Morshed and Patton (2002) provided DNA sequence data from Saudi Arabia.