Melanistic North African hedgehog <i>Atelerix algirus</i> (Lereboullet, 1842): First report case in Erinaceidae-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Melanistic North African hedgehog Atelerix algirus (Lereboullet, 1842): First report case in Erinaceidae

Published:2023-02-09 Issue:2 Volume:61 Page:496-500
ISSN:0141-6707
Container-title:African Journal of Ecology
language:en
Short-container-title:Afr J Ecol

Author:

El‐Farhati Haithem¹^ORCID,Hizem Mohamed Wassim¹^ORCID,Nouira Saïd¹

Affiliation:

1. Tunis Faculty of Sciences Department of Biological Sciences Research Unit Wildlife Ecology (UR17‐ES44) University of Tunis El Manar Tunis Tunisia

Abstract

AbstractAlthough they are animals known all over the world, there is still a lot to discover about hedgehogs. Records of atypical colourations in these animals are rare or even absent. Melanism is a genetic peculiarity that causes an overproduction of melanin and makes the body colour partially or completely black. We present the first‐ever record case of a melanism for an Erinaceidae species, Atelerix algirus, from Tunisia (33°12′26.5″N 10°26′32.4″E). We discuss its potential evolutionary advantage and give some explanation of its rarity.

Publisher

Wiley

Subject

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Link

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/aje.13128

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