Bare-bellied hedgehog
Paraechinus nudiventris (Horsfield, 1851)
The bare-bellied hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris) is a species in the family Erinaceidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh about 234.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the bare-bellied hedgehog
- Weight
- 234.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the bare-bellied hedgehog live?
Not recorded
What is the bare-bellied hedgehog?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Bare-bellied hedgehog” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bare-bellied_hedgehog&oldid=1384913511), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the bare-bellied hedgehog endangered?
The bare-bellied hedgehog is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the bare-bellied hedgehog classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderEulipotyphla
- familyErinaceidae
- genusParaechinus
- SpeciesParaechinus nudiventris (Horsfield, 1851)
Synonyms Erinaceus nudiventris, Hemiechinus nudiventris, Paraechinus micropus nudiventris
Other names and names in other languages (17)
- Madras hedgehogEnglish
- Madras hedgehogEnglish
- قنفذ مدراسArabic
- ježek indickýCzech
- NacktbauchigelGerman
- Erizo de vientre desnudoSpanish
- madrasinsiiliFinnish
- Riccio dal ventre nudoItalian
- ムナスベハリネズミJapanese
- BarbukpiggsvinNorwegian Bokmål
- piaskojeż białobrzuchyPolish
- Голобрюхий ёжRussian
- MulleliTamil
- Erumal eliTamil
- Mollu eliTamil
- Mullu eliTamil
- 裸腹蝟Chinese
Relatives of the bare-bellied hedgehog
Other species in the same genus Paraechinus.
Desert hedgehog
Paraechinus aethiopicus
Brandt's hedgehog
Paraechinus hypomelas
Indian hedgehog
Paraechinus micropus
CompareBare-bellied hedgehog vs Desert hedgehogBare-bellied hedgehog vs Brandt's hedgehogBare-bellied hedgehog vs Indian hedgehogBare-bellied hedgehog vs Paraechinus amir
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the bare-bellied hedgehog?
An adult bare-bellied hedgehog weighs 234.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the bare-bellied hedgehog endangered?
The bare-bellied hedgehog is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the bare-bellied hedgehog?
The bare-bellied hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris) belongs to the family Erinaceidae in the order Eulipotyphla.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Bare-bellied hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bare-bellied-hedgehog
“Bare-bellied hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bare-bellied-hedgehog.
@misc{bare_bellied_hedgehog_2026,
title = {Bare-bellied hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bare-bellied-hedgehog},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}