Hylomys dorsalis (IMAGE)
Caption
Hylomys dorsalis seen in the wild on Mount Murud, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia.
A new study led by scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History describes five new species of soft-furred hedgehogs from Southeast Asia. The study, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, used DNA analysis and physical characteristics to describe two entirely new species of soft-furred hedgehogs and elevate three subspecies to the level of species.
H. dorsalis—one of the previous subspecies now elevated to new species—hails from the mountains of Northern Borneo and features a conspicuous dark stripe that begins atop its head and bisects its back before fading around mid-body. It is about the same size as Hylomys macarong, about 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) in length.
Credit
Quentin Martinez, www.quentinmartinez.fr, all rights reserved.
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