European hedgehog

European hedgehog Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Erinaceidae
Genus:	Erinaceus
Species:	E. europaeus[1]
Binomial name
Erinaceus europaeus[1] Linnaeus, 1758
Range including introductions
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.