Mouse family. What do decorative mice eat? General characteristics of mouse representatives

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CLASS MAMMALS

SUBCLASS PLACENTAL MAMMALS

ORDER RODENTS

THE MOUSE FAMILY

MOUSE SUBFAMILY

TABLE FOR DETERMINING THE GENERUS OF THE MICE SUBFAMILY 1(6) Foot length hind legs

less than 25 mm. Condylobasal length of the skull is less than 30 mm. The length of adult animals is up to 150 mm.

2(3) On the inner (back) side of the upper incisors there is a small ledge into which the ends of the lower jaw incisors rest (Fig. 74, a). The parietal bones have pointed narrow processes directed forward on the anterior outer corners (Fig. 75, a).

House mice:
Rice. 74. Incisors of house (a) and forest (b) mice

1 - ledge on the back surface of the upper incisors

3(2) There is no shoulder on the inner (back) side of the upper incisors (Fig. 74, b). Parietal bones without pointed processes on the anterior outer corners (Fig. 75, b).:
Rice. 75. Skulls of house (a) and forest (6) mice

1 - processes of the parietal bones

4(5) The body length of adults is not more than 70 mm. The length of the hind legs is less than 16 mm. Condylobasal length of the skull is up to 20 mm. The distance from the anterior surface of the incisors to the posterior wall of the last molars of the upper jaw is less than the distance from the last molar to the occipital condyle. The pads on the soles of the feet are extended along the sole.

Baby mice 5(4) The body length of adult animals is more than 70 mm. The length of the hind legs is more than 16 mm. Condylobasal length of the skull is over 20 mm. The distance between the front surface of the incisors and back wall

of the last molars of the upper jaw exceeds the distance from the last molar to the occipital condyle. The pads of the feet of the hind legs are rounded.

Forest and field mice

6(1) Larger sizes: the length of the hind legs of adults is more than 25 mm. Condylobasal length of the skull is more than 30 mm. The length of adult and sub-adult animals usually exceeds 150 mm.

7(8) Tail length exceeds 2/3 of body length. The distance between the outer sides of the upper jaw incisors at their base is approximately equal to the width of the nasal opening of the skull (Fig. 76, a). The chewing surface of the molars has tubercles or (in worn teeth) curved three-lobed enamel loops (Fig. 70, a).

Rats

8(7) Tail length less than 2/3 of body length. The distance between the outer sides of the upper jaw incisors at their base significantly exceeds the width of the nasal opening of the skull (Fig. 76, b). The chewing surface of molars in adult individuals bears oval enamel loops elongated in the transverse direction (there are 3 on the front tooth, 2 on the second and third) (Fig. 70, b).

Lamellar-toothed rats

GENUS HOUSE MICE

There is one species in the fauna of the USSR.

House mouse

(Almost the entire territory of the USSR, except the North. In the north of the range it lives only in human buildings, and in the south of the country it also lives in fields, steppes and other lands. Gives a number of litters of 3-8 cubs per year. The food is varied. Barn and field pest.)

KIND OF LITTLE MOUSE

The only kind.

Little mouse

(Almost the entire European part of the USSR, except for the North, Southern Siberia, Northern Kazakhstan, Southern Yakutia, Amur region, Primorye. More often found in fields, hayfields, vegetable gardens, and in reeds near lakes. In summer it lives in spherical nests suspended on the stems of grasses and cereals. In winter, it takes refuge in stacks and sweeps. Breeds several times a year; There are 4-8 young in the litter. Feeds on seeds and green parts herbaceous plants. In some places it damages crops.)

GENUS FOREST AND FIELD MICE

There are 5 species in the fauna of the USSR.

TABLE FOR IDENTIFYING SPECIES OF THE GENUS OF FOREST AND FIELD MICE

1(2) A black stripe stretches along the ridge on the back. The external tubercle in the first loop of the second molar of the upper jaw is absent (Fig. 77, a).

(The European part of the USSR, except Crimea and the northern regions, Northern and Eastern Kazakhstan, Northern Kyrgyzstan, the southern parts of Western and Central Siberia, east to Lake Baikal, the Amur region and Primorye. Settles in arable lands, meadows, forest edges, in bushes, along ravines, in the floodplains of rivers, in gardens. Lives throughout the year; in the winter it accumulates near villages in stacks and litters. Gives birth to 3 litters of 3-9 young. Eats green parts and seeds of herbaceous plants and insects. garden crops.)

Rice. 77. Molars of the upper jaw of various mice:
a - second molar of the upper jaw of a field mouse; b - second molar of the upper jaw of an East Asian mouse; c - the first molar of the upper jaw of a wood mouse; d - the first molar of the upper jaw of a mountain mouse; 1 - anterior outer tubercle of the second molar

2(1) There is no longitudinal black stripe on the back. The first loop of the second molar of the upper jaw forms both an external and an internal tubercle (Fig. 77, b).

3(4) The color of the back is grayish-brown without any admixture of brown or reddish shades. The outer side of the first molar of the upper jaw with 4 tubercles (Fig. 77, d).

Mountain mouse

(Western Transcaucasia. Lives on mountain slopes in forests and bushes. Lifestyle is poorly studied.)

4(3) The color of the back is light brown or grayish-brown (in juveniles), usually with a reddish tint. The outer side of the first molar of the upper jaw with 3 tubercles (Fig. 77, c).

5(8) Body length up to 11 cm. Length of hind legs less than 22 mm. The condylobasal length of the skull usually does not exceed 22 mm.

Wood mouse

(Almost the entire European part of the USSR, except the North, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, except the desert sands, South part Western Siberia. Inhabits forests, thickets of bushes, fields, vegetable gardens, orchards, villages, floodplains, and mountain slopes. Lives in minks. Does not hibernate. During the year, females give birth to 2-4 litters of 3-8 young. It feeds on acorns, nuts, seeds, grass, and insects. In some places it damages forest and garden plants and crops.)

6(5) Body length over 11 cm. Length of hind legs over 22 mm. The condylobasal length of the skull usually exceeds 22 mm.

7(8) There is a yellow spot on the chest between the paws. The edges of the interorbital space of the skull are rounded.

Yellow-throated mouse

(Western, central and southern regions European part of the USSR, Caucasus. Lives in mixed and deciduous forests, bushes, along beams, in the steppe, gardens. Settles in burrows and hollows. There are 2-3 litters of 4-8 cubs per year. Does not hibernate. Food like a wood mouse.)

8(7) There is no yellow spot on the chest. The edges of the interorbital space of the skull bear a ridge-like edge.

East Asian mouse

(Primorye, Amur region, southern Yakutia, Transbaikalia, Baikal region, Sayan Mountains, Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Altai. It lives along the edges of forests, in bushes, along ravines, in fields. Its lifestyle is similar to a forest mouse.)

RAT KIND

There are 3 species in the fauna of the USSR.

TABLE FOR IDENTIFYING RATS SPECIES

1(2) The tail is shorter than the body. There are no more than 200 rings of skin scales on the tail. The ear, bent forward, does not reach the eye. There are small swimming membranes between the toes of the hind legs. The lateral ridges of the parietal bones are almost straight, parallel to each other or slightly diverging posteriorly (Fig. 78, c).

Gray rat, or pasyuk

(Inhabits almost the entire country, except the Far North, taiga regions of Siberia and the Far East, Central Asia and Southern Kazakhstan. Lives mainly in cities and villages, sometimes settling in floodplains. Breeds in buildings all year round, and in natural conditions only in the warm season. The food is very varied. Causes great harm through destruction and spoilage of food products. Carrier of plague, rabies and a number of others dangerous diseases person.)

2(1) The tail is longer than the body. The tail has more than 200 rings of skin scales. The ear, bent forward, reaches the eye. There is no swimming membrane between the toes of the hind legs. The lateral ridges of the parietal bones are curved outward (Fig. 78, a, b).

Rice. 78. Skulls of Central Asian (a), black (b) and gray (c) rats:
1 - lateral ridges of the parietal and frontal bones

3(4) The tail is one color or its upper side is only slightly darker than the lower. The anterior edge of the notch of the bony palate lies significantly behind the line connecting the posterior surfaces of the last molars of the upper jaw.

Rat black

(Sporadic in the European part of the USSR, Transcaucasia and Far East. It lives in buildings and outside them - in floodplains and forests. Gives 2-3 litters per year, with an average of 6 cubs. It eats food in houses, and fruits and vegetables in gardens and orchards. Available in two varieties - black and brown.)

4(3) The tail is sharply two-colored: dark above, whitish below. The anterior edge of the notch of the bony palate lies approximately on the line connecting the posterior surfaces of the last molars of the upper jaw.

Central Asian rat

(Central Asia and Southern Kazakhstan. Lives both in human settlements and in the forest, in the mountains, along rivers. Reproduces 2-3 times a year. Spoils food, eats fruits and vegetables in gardens. In the forest feeds on nuts, seeds, berries , fruits, insects.)

GENUS PLATE-TOothed RATS

There is only one species in the USSR.

Lamellar-toothed rat, or short-toothed

(Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Settles along the banks of rivers and irrigation ditches, in irrigated meadows, in gardens and vegetable gardens, in villages. Lives in colonies in branched burrows. Gives a number of litters per year. Severely damages alfalfa, rice and vegetable plantings.)

A mouse is a small animal that belongs to the class Mammals, order Rodents, family Mouse (Muridae).

Mouse - description, characteristics and photos. What does a mouse look like?

The length of the mouse’s body, covered with short fur, varies from 5 to 19 cm, depending on the species, and doubles with the tail. These rodents have a rather short neck. The pointed muzzle shows small black beady eyes and small semicircular ears, allowing the mice to hear well. Thin and sensitive whiskers growing around the nose give them the ability to perfectly navigate their surroundings. Mice, unlike mice, do not have cheek pouches.

The mouse's paws are short with five prehensile toes. The surface of the tail is covered with keratinized scales with sparse hairs. The color of the mouse is usually characterized by gray, brown or red tones, but there are variegated and striped individuals, as well as white mice. Animals lead an active lifestyle in the evening or at night. They communicate with each other using a thin squeak.

Types of mice, names and photos

The mouse family includes 4 subfamilies, 147 genera and 701 species, the most common of which are:

• (Apodemus agrarius)

reaches 12.5 cm in size, not counting the tail, which can be up to 9 cm long. The color of the back of the mouse is gray, with a slight yellowish-brown tint and a dark stripe running along the ridge, and the belly is light gray. The habitat of the field mouse includes Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Poland, Bulgaria, the southern part of Western Siberia and Primorye, Mongolia, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and separate territories China. This species of mice lives in wide meadows, in dense thickets of bushes, city gardens and parks, and makes a refuge both in burrows and in any natural shelters. In flooded areas it builds nests on bushes. Depending on the season, the diet may consist of seeds, berries, green parts of plants and various insects. Harvest mouse is the main pest of grain crops.

• (Apodemus flavicollis)

has a reddish-gray color and a light belly (sometimes with a small spot yellow color). The body size of adult individuals reaches 10-13 cm, the tail has approximately the same length. The mouse weighs about 50 grams. This type of mouse is widespread in forest areas Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Caucasus, the northern provinces of China and Altai. Yellow-throated mice live on open edges in hollow trees or dug holes, but they can also live in rocky areas. Their diet includes both plant and animal foods. Eating young shoots fruit trees, they cause significant harm to nurseries.

• Grass mouse (Nilotic grass mouse) (Arvicanthis niloticus)

is one of the most major representatives of the mouse family and can reach 19 cm in length, and with the tail - 35 cm. The weight of individual large individuals exceeds 100 g. The fur of the back and sides has a dark gray or grayish-brown color with individual hard and prickly bristles of a darker shade. The belly color is light gray. This type of mouse is most common in African countries, where they live in bushes, forests and savannas. As a refuge, grass mice choose abandoned termite mounds or dig holes on their own, but on occasion they can enter human habitation. The main diet of mice is plant food.

• (Micromys minutus)

is one of the smallest rodents in the world. The body length of an adult animal does not exceed 7 cm, the tail - 6.5 cm, and the weight of the baby does not exceed 10 g. The back and sides are plain and have a reddish-brown or brown color, in contrast to the light gray, almost white belly. The muzzle of baby mice is short and blunt, with small ears. The distribution area of ​​this species of mice stretches from west to east from the northwestern provinces of Spain to Korea and Japan, in the south to Kazakhstan, China and the northern regions of Mongolia. The mouse lives in forest and forest-steppe zones, in meadows with tall grass. IN summer time Mice use nests made in the grass as shelter, and overwinter in burrows, haystacks, and human residential or outbuildings. The basis of the diet of baby mice is the seeds of cereals and legumes, as well as small insects. They often settle near granaries, causing great harm agriculture.

• (Mus musculus)

the most widespread species of the rodent family on the planet. The body length of an adult mouse does not exceed 9.5 cm, and together with the tail - 15 cm. The weight of the mouse is 12-30 g. The color of the fur on the sides and back is gray with a brown tint, and on the abdomen from light gray to white. Individuals living in desert areas are sandy in color. The mouse's muzzle is sharp with small rounded ears. The distribution range of this species of mice does not include only the territory of the Far North, Antarctica and high mountain regions. House mice live in all types of landscapes and natural areas, very often penetrate into human outbuildings and residential buildings. In natural conditions, they dig minks on their own, although they can also occupy homes abandoned by other rodents. They feed on seeds and juicy green parts of plants, and having entered a person’s house, they eat everything that gets into their teeth - from bread and sausages to paraffin candles.

• (Lemniscomys striatus)

small rodent: body length 10-15 cm, intermittent stripes of light colors are visible along the back and along the sides. Under natural conditions, striped mice rarely live more than 6-7 months; in captivity they live two to three times longer. The menu of these individuals includes mainly plant “dishes”: root vegetables, soft seeds, juicy fruits, and occasionally small insects.

• (akomis) (Acomys)

a rather handsome representative of the mouse family, the owner of huge eyes and equally large ears. The size of the spiny mouse, including its tail, is 13-26 cm; the back of the animal is covered with thin needles, like a regular mouse. Amazing feature These animals have regeneration: when in danger, the mouse is able to shed a piece of skin, leaving the attacker bewildered. Skin covering quickly recovers without damage to the individual. The spiny mouse lives in Asian countries and is found in Cyprus and Africa. In food it focuses on plant foods; this animal is often kept as pet.

Where does the mouse live?

The distribution range of mice covers almost all climatic zones, zones and continents globe. Mouse representatives can be found in tropical thickets, coniferous or deciduous forests, steppes and deserts, on mountain slopes or in swampy areas. Mice also live in people's homes.

Mice can make nests from grass stems, occupy abandoned holes, or dig complex systems underground passages. Unlike species living in swamps, mountain, steppe and forest mice They swim poorly.

What does a mouse eat?

The basis of the diet of mice is plant food: grass seeds, fruits of trees or shrubs and cereals (oats, barley, millet, buckwheat). Mice that live in swampy areas, wet and flooded meadows, feed on leaves, buds or flowers of plants and shrubs. Some types of mice prefer protein supplement as insects, worms, beetles, spiders B hibernation the mouse does not fall and can move under the snow crust without appearing on the surface.

To survive the cold, she has to create substantial food reserves in pantries located near the entrance to the burrow.

Surely everyone knows the little animal from the emblem of our newspaper - the hedgehog. We have heard about it since childhood, seen it in the garden, in the forest, sometimes brought it home... How much do you know about hedgehogs? After all, there have been so many myths and legends spun around hedgehogs that turn out to be fables! So, meet the hedgehogs.

The mole feeds on insects, earthworms, and centipedes, which it finds underground and which fall into its passages. Sometimes he even makes reserves from earthworms, biting through the nerve ganglion with them, while the worm cannot crawl away, but remains alive for a long time. So it also brings considerable benefits. Traces of a mole's activity are heaps of earth thrown out when digging tunnels - molehills. Gardeners often complain that the moles have multiplied and eaten all the potatoes and carrots! In fact, the mole has no need for vegetables at all; he needs insects and worms. Only by breaking through its underground galleries can a mole break the roots of plants it encounters along the way, including garden plants, but it is not its fault that it eats root crops. Most likely, the water rat or water vole is to blame for this - a rather large rodent, which moves out from the banks of reservoirs into vegetable gardens closer to winter and can also leave heaps of earth that look like molehills.


The latter differ in that they are approximately the same size and located at approximately equal distances from each other - along the path of the mole. In addition, in a mole the hole can be visible only at the top of the molehill, and more often it is not visible at all, it is clogged with earth, while in voles the entrance to the hole is located on the side of a pile of earth. So moles are usually not to blame for damaging gardens. They are active all year round; in winter they only go deeper, to where the soil does not freeze. Moles are also useful for their digging activity - they loosen the soil, moving soil from deeper layers that is much richer in minerals than the surface layers. There are 4 species of moles in Russia, of which only the European mole lives in the central zone.

Shrews are also relatives of the hedgehog. There are 7 species of them in the Moscow region, but most often you can find ordinary and small shrew and the small shrew, and in total there are 26 species in Russia.

Externally, they can only be distinguished by looking closely. Their lifestyle is similar. These are small animals and are often confused with rodents. They can be easily distinguished by the snout extended into the proboscis; in mice and voles the muzzle is more or less rounded. These small animals live in forests, clearings, and bushes. They also feed on insects, worms and other invertebrates, and can sometimes eat seeds. On occasion, these little ones can bite and eat both a mouse and a frog! In general, shrews are extremely voracious - in a day they can eat as much food as they weigh, or even more! As a rule, the shrew is either sleeping or looking for food. As biologists joke, if a shrew were the size of a cat, then life on Earth would become impossible. In general, they are very useful because they eat great amount insects, among which there are a lot of garden and forest pests. Contrary to their name, they, like moles, do not dig the ground, but scurry under the forest floor, remaining active in winter, even in the most severe frosts. Then you can see their traces. They are similar to the tracks of mice - the shrew also moves in jumps, there may be a stripe from the tail at the back, but their paw prints are much smaller (1-1.5 cm), and the length of the jump is only 5-7 cm, and even in the loosest snow they fall through very few because they are very light.

These small animals live near us in forests and vegetable gardens. All insectivores are undoubtedly useful, and any harm (for example, from the digging activity of a mole) is more than compensated for by their gluttony. Well, you don’t even need to take hedgehogs home; let them live freely in the forest.

This family unites mice and rats, of which there are a great many: except for all famous inhabitants houses and surrounding forests, this includes at least 500 species of rodents from tropical forests Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, in which sometimes you don’t even recognize rats. Thus, in the Philippines there live giant shaggy tree “rats” weighing 2-3 kg, similar to large squirrels. Next door, on the Sunda Islands, live small rodents that resemble shrews and feed exclusively on soil invertebrates - these are also representatives of the mouse family. But in the New World there are no representatives of this family (except for those that were brought by people): there, “mice” and “rats” are called hamster-like animals that look exactly like typical mice.

With the exception of the exotic forms mentioned, all members of the mouse family are easily recognizable. These are most often small (weighing from 5 to 300 g), proportionally built, long-tailed animals. Their division into “mice” and “rats” is quite arbitrary: the small ones are called mice, and the larger ones are called rats. Their differences from the close family of hamsters, perhaps, come down to a more complex structure of the teeth. Most people have short, soft hair; but often in mice the hair on the back is replaced by needles. Some mice, called “prickly” mice, are in no way inferior to hedgehogs in this regard, except that they cannot curl up into a ball. The tail is usually bare. The color is almost always monochromatic - brownish or gray; Only in Africa do some mice have light longitudinal stripes on their backs.

The vast majority of Asian mice and rats are forest dwellers, some of them spend a significant part of their lives in trees. However, this is not their special merit: just almost all Southeast Asia, where members of the family are most numerous, is covered dense forests, there are generally very few purely terrestrial animals there. Accordingly, in Africa, where more than half the territory is occupied by open, arid landscapes, many mice live similar to gerbils or voles. A few species are “worldly backwaters”, inhabitants of human dwellings, warehouses, and travel with ships all over the world. They damage products and carry such terrible diseases like the plague that in Europe in the Middle Ages “wiped out” the population of entire cities.

In Russia, the mouse family is represented by only a dozen species. Moreover, almost all of them are among the most common, living everywhere in mixed forests and in dwellings. So you wouldn’t think about them that in fact they are an “echo” of exotic tropical fauna.

Until recently, the forest one was the most “ordinary” and was considered widespread in Russia. But a few years ago, scientists discovered that there are several different types- “doubles”, which only specialists, and even then not all, can distinguish. So it turned out that we don’t even know exactly what kind of wood mice live in Russia: it is believed that the “ordinary” wood mouse lives in Western Europe and the Baltic states, and in our country a smaller species is common, which for now has been agreed to be called the “small wood mouse” (Apodemus uralensis).

Wood mice are distributed throughout Europe, the Caucasus, throughout the south of Western Siberia and the north of Kazakhstan, the eastern limit of its range is Altai Mountains. At the same time, the common forest mouse inhabits Western and Central Europe, and small - European part Russia and Trans-Urals. Previously, in addition to this already vast territory, Asia Minor and the Iranian Plateau would have been indicated, but it seems that other species - “doubles” - live there.

This graceful mouse is small: the body length is up to 10 cm, the tail is approximately the same. The muzzle is pointed, with large black eyes and rather large ears. The hair on the back is soft, the color is reddish, the bottom of the body is white, only on the chest between the paws there is sometimes a small yellow “smear”.

The wood mouse, as its name suggests, is the most characteristic inhabitant of mixed and deciduous forests. IN Central Russia the northern limit of its range coincides with the border between mixed and taiga forests. Of course, it is also found further north, but among continuous coniferous forests it can only be found in burnt areas and clearings overgrown with small-leaved trees - birch, alder, and willow. In the southern regions, it settles not only in forests and steppe copses, but also in completely treeless areas, finding refuge in meadow tall grasses, as well as in orchards. During the ripening period of grain, these rodents gather in large numbers in the fields; in some places there are even more mice than voles.

In summer, the wood mouse is secretive, active in the dark, and nothing gives away its presence. In winter, chains of mouse tracks in the snow fan out from some hole under the butt of a tree or hummock - the exit of the hole. They meander between trees and bushes, disappear in snowy passages and reappear, talking about how difficult it is small animal find food. However, mouse snow trails are short; rodents prefer to stay under the snow. And sometimes the “white book”, on which the inhabitants of the forest leave their autographs, makes it possible to understand why life under the snow is better than above: if the chain of mouse tracks unexpectedly ends, and fingers seem to be imprinted on the sides of it, it means that our mouse was dragged away and eaten by some feathered predator. However, life under the snow is not safe either: a small predator prowls there - a weasel, from which there is nowhere to hide.

As a typical forest dweller, the wood mouse climbs trees well, which it takes advantage of, often settling in hollows at a height of 3-5 meters. However, more often its shelters are located under the roots of the same trees, fallen trees, and at the base of dense bushes. In treeless areas, the wood mouse digs simple burrows with 2-3 exits, a nesting chamber and several storage chambers.

The main food of the wood mouse is the seeds of various trees, which it collects on the ground. In the middle zone these are mainly small-leaved species, in the south, especially in mountainous regions - elm, maple, ash; a special delicacy is oak acorns and beech nuts. At the end of summer, mice happily eat juicy berries, and in the spring, juicy green grass sprouts. Often these rodents catch and eat small invertebrates that abound in forest litter. For the winter, wood mice carry reserves of seeds into hollows and burrows, so they settle in fields, under stacks and haystacks, less often in cold weather than their field relatives.

Wood mice breed 2-3 times a year; a litter most often contains 5-6 cubs, and in especially favorable years - up to 7-8. The number of mice is subject to significant fluctuations, depending on climatic conditions and harvest of basic feed.

These mass rodents are serious pests forestry. During a “mouse attack,” when there are especially many of them, rodents can completely destroy the harvest of oak, beech, and linden seeds. Moreover, they raid nurseries - they dig out planted seeds from under the ground and “ring” the young shoots. However, in fairness it should be noted that the harm from it is not as great as from the next type.

My thoughts are my horses. :)) You never know when and what will come into your head. This time, the thought suddenly came to me about who the Hedgehog’s relatives are now and from whom he descends, that is, who was his ancestor or ancestors. It turns out that not everything is as simple as it seemed at first glance. That's what we'll talk about.
Ugolieok

HEDGEHOG RELATIVES

Hedgehogs belong to the order of insectivores. Consequently, all mammals of the order insectivores are relatives of the Hedgehog. This order, which, according to some scientists, consists of 7 families and 3 subfamilies, and, according to others, 10 families, includes such different animals that it is even difficult to imagine them as relatives. Well, really, what do they have in common? prickly hedgehog and an underground inhabitant - a mole? Nevertheless, they are relatives. They had common ancestors, who lived 135 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed our planet. From these ancestors, modern insectivores have retained some characteristics. One of them - especially important for systematic zoologists - is a special pattern on the molars.

Insectivores are the most ancient group of mammals. They appeared on Earth, apparently, during the time of the first dinosaurs. These are Hedgehogs, moles, shrews and muskrats - small animals that live on the ground, in the soil, forest floor or in fresh water bodies. All of them have poor vision and find prey by smell or sound. In addition to insects, they eat all small animals they can catch, and sometimes also seeds and succulent parts of plants. Some of them somewhat resemble rodents, but are distinguished by a pointed head with a nose extended into a short proboscis. The teeth of insectivores are small, cone-shaped, very sharp, and not at all similar to the teeth of rodents. These secretive animals are rarely seen, but they play important role in nature, especially in the forest zone. They dig and loosen the soil and naturally regulate the number of insects on the forest floor.

Hedgehogs are found in North Asia (Northeast China, Mongolia, Korea) and South Asia (India, the Philippines, Kalimantan, Sumatra), in New Zealand (they were brought there by European settlers along with domestic animals), in the Middle East (for example, in Egypt and Syria), in European countries, in Africa (for example, on the island of Madagascar), in the territory North America. By the way, according to information from one page about Hedgehogs compiled by an American amateur, Hedgehogs were purposefully and gradually imported to the USA from... Africa! At the same time, the Hedgehogs underwent mandatory sanitary quarantine.

Hedgehogs living in other exotic countries come in different types, including exotic ones. For example, Hedgehogs live on Earth without needles. The so-called "non-thorny Hedgehogs":

There are four such species of Hedgehogs, all of them live in South Asia. One species is found only in the Philippines, the rest are found on mainland Asia and on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra. These Hedgehogs have tails similar to rats, and not 36 teeth, like our Hedgehogs, but 40!

Immediate family woolly hedgehogs- gap teeth. These animals are also insectivores. But, as they say, that's another story. By the way, they are found only in Cuba and Haiti.

The closest relatives of the gaptooths are “tenrecs” (Tenrecs are also Hedgehogs.) They are bristly hedgehogs. There are thirty (!) species, and all of them live only on the island of Madagascar. Tenrecs come with tails and without tails. In others, the tail is 2.5 times longer than the body. And on their backs they can grow stubble, simple hair, and needles. Some can curl up into a ball, while others cannot.

Many tenrecs obtain their food, like real Hedgehogs, by hunting on the surface of the earth. Some dig in minks like moles, and some even climb trees with pleasure. One family of tenrecs can have up to 20 cubs.
Read more about tenrecs here:
Tenrec - striped bristly hedgehog: let's get acquainted