Amphechinus is an extinctgenus ofhedgehog of thefamilyErinaceidae, which lived in Asia and Europe during theOligocene and in North America, Africa, Asia and Europe during theMiocene. The genus contains at least 14 species. It is classified in the subfamilyErinaceinae and in the familyErinaceidae.
| Amphechinus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Erinaceidae |
| Subfamily: | Erinaceinae |
| Tribe: | †Amphechinini |
| Genus: | †Amphechinus Aymard, 1850 |
| Species | |
| |
A single specimen examined in 1998 was estimated to have had a weight of 175 g (0.39 lb) when alive.[1][failed verification]
Characteristics
editAs a member of the familyErinaceidae and in the subfamilyErinaceinae, Amphechinus may have been around the size of theEuropean hedgehog, with males being larger than females.
Diet
editLike many other genera in the familyErinaceidae, Amphechinus mostly ate either small invertebrates like modern day hedgehogs like beetles, worms, caterpillars earwigs and more other insect species and shuffle through the ground to find any insects.
Distribution
editAmphechinus may have either lived in forests and dense areas with enough food sources like caterpillars and other insects to eat during theOligocene roughly 30 million years ago inAsia andEurope in theMiocene.
Sources
edit- ^Bloch, J.I.; Rose, K.D.; Gingerich, P.D. (August 1998)."New species ofBatodonoides (Lipotyphla, Geolabididae) from the early Eocene of Wyoming: smallest known mammal?".Journal of Mammalogy.79 (3):804–827.doi:10.2307/1383090.JSTOR 1383090.
- The Beginning of the Age of Mammals by Kenneth D. Rose