| European hedgehog Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Erinaceidae |
| Genus: | Erinaceus |
| Species: | E. europaeus[1]
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| Binomial name | |
| Erinaceus europaeus[1] | |
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| Range including introductions | |
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| Native range of European hedgehog | |
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. It is a well-known species, and a favourite in European gardens, both for its endearing appearance and its preference for eating a range of garden pests. While populations are currently stable across much of its range, it is declining severely in Great Britain[2] where it is now Red Listed,[4] meaning that it is considered to be at risk of local extinction. Outside its native range, the species was introduced to New Zealand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- ^ Hutterer, R. (2005). "Order Erinaceomorpha". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Gazzard, A.; Rasmussen, S.L. (2024). "Erinaceus europaeus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024: e.T29650A213411773. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Harris, S. & Yalden, D.W. (2008). Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook, 4th Edition. The Mammal Society, Southampton.
- ^ "Hedgehogs and water voles face extinction in new Red List for British mammals". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-12.