Bare-bellied Hedgehog

Open encyclopedia reference

The bare-bellied hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris), also known as the Madras hedgehog, is a species of hedgehog that is endemic to dry arid regions and scrubby jungles in southeastern India. As it was believed to be rare, it was formerly listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. It is now known to be locally common in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, mostly in Erode and Tirupur, resulting in its new listing as a species of Least Concern. Hedgehogs are protected species under schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

It was also found in Kottayam and Palakkad districts of Kerala.

Madras hedgehogs are hunted locally in India for subsistence food and medicinal purposes. They are wildly perceived to be a cure for tuberculosis and asthma, as well as offer relief against coughs.

Wikipedia contributors, Bare-bellied hedgehog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:47:47.338770+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Paraechinus nudiventris (Horsfield, 1851)

Name authority

(Horsfield, 1851)

Common name

Bare-bellied Hedgehog

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Eulipotyphla

Family

Erinaceidae

Genus

Paraechinus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderEulipotyphla Waddell, Okada & Hasegawa, 1999
12. familyErinaceidae G. Fischer, 1814
13. subfamilyErinaceinae G. Fischer, 1814
14. genusParaechinus Trouessart, 1879
15. speciesParaechinus nudiventris (Horsfield, 1851)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Paraechinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 26 records assigned to Erinaceidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=709731 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:75NYD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.