Scientists from Anhui Normal University and elsewhere have identified a new species of the hedgehog genus Mesechinus living the scrubland and subtropical forests of eastern China.
Mesechinus is a small genus of mammals in the hedgehog family Erinaceidae.
The genus until now comprised four species from East Asia: Mesechinus dauuricus, Mesechinus hughi, Mesechinus miodon, and Mesechinus wangi.
Except for Mesechinus wangi, which is found in southwestern China, the other three species are mainly distributed in northern China and adjacent Mongolia and Siberia.
“For a long time, the genus Mesechinus was thought to be restricted to northern China and adjacent Mongolia and Siberia until scientists reported in 2007 a small population of Mesechinus from Mount Gaoligong in Yunnan province, southwestern China,” said Anhui Normal University biologist Zhongzheng Chen and his colleagues.
“This Mount Gaoligong population was subsequently described as a new species, Mesechinus wangi.”
“In the new study, we recognized a population of Mesechinus from eastern China as another isolated species, Mesechinus orientalis.”
Mesechinus orientalis is a small-bodied hedgehog, similar to Mesechinus hughi, but smaller than other Mesechinus species.
It has the shortest spines in the genus (1.8-2 cm). There are four color rings on the spine from the base to the tip: two-thirds of the length is white at the base, followed by a 3-4 mm black ring, a narrow light ring, and a black tip.
The nose is brown, with black whiskers on the snout; these whiskers shorten towards the nose. The ears are small and nearly the same length as the surrounding spines.
Mesechinus orientalis appears to be sexually dimorphic. The pelage of males is generally gray, while that of most of the females is reddish brown.
The new species is currently known from southern Anhui and northwestern Zhejiang, both in eastern China.
It can be found in scrubland and subtropical broad-leaf evergreen forests at elevations…
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