Scientists at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History have discovered five new soft-furred hedgehogs in Southeast Asia. This comes after a "golden year" of discovery for hedgehog species, which researchers hope will encourage more robust protection for these animals and the delicate environments that support them.
Soft-furred hedgehogs, or gymnures, are the tropical, furry relatives of the spiny porcupine-like creatures we know and love.
"Gymnures lack the spiny appearance of their counterpart and are exclusive to Southeast Asia," research lead and postdoctoral research fellow at the National Museum of Natural History and University of Seville, Arlo Hinckley, told Newsweek. "In Malaysia, they are called 'Tikus Babi,' which means pig-rat, perhaps because they look like rats with pig noses or because some species seem to have a very strong porcine odor."
Soft-furred hedgehogs are omnivorous and feed mainly on invertebrates (although Hinckley said they are also partial to bananas and sweet potatoes.)
"You can see them during the day, foraging and sniffing around in places with a lot of tree roots, logs, rocks, bushes or tall grass, where they can easily hide," Hinckley said.
By studying specimens from their own fieldwork and 14 natural history museum collections around the world, Hinckley and his team performed physical and genetic analysis on 232 physical specimens and 85 tissue samples to identify five new distinct species of soft-furred hedgehog. Their results were published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society on December 21.
"2023 is the golden year of hedgehog species discovery since eight new species have been identified, five in our research, and three in two other studies," Hinckley said. "Seven of the new hedgehog species identified in 2023 are soft-furred, so the species diversity of soft-furred hedgehogs has almost doubled in a year."
Of their discoveries, three hedgehogs had been previously considered a subspecies, while two were entirely new to science.
"The two new species we describe had been housed in the Smithsonian since the 30s and 60s and were examined and overlooked even by rockstar taxonomists," Hinckley said. "Our findings are the result of technological advances in the field of museum genomics and intergenerational specimen collection efforts."
Why is it so essential to study these species?
"Biodiversity conservation is pivotal for human survival," Hinckley said. "Diverse ecosystems offer a multitude of ecosystem services due to the variety of species and interactions they harbor. This biodiversity contributes to the resilience and stability of ecosystems, supporting essential services such as pollination, water purification, climate regulation, and nutrient cycling.
"Species descriptions contribute to our understanding of how many species are out there and how these are distributed, guiding stakeholders in the design of areas of conservation priority that maximize biodiversity protection. This is particularly important in Southeast Asia which has the highest rates of deforestation in the world."
Hinckley compared their findings to the discovery of a Picasso painting in an art collection.
"It gives these places additional value and hopefully funding to protect such an important heritage," he said. "I also think that an increased understanding on the diversity of potential mammalian reservoir hosts and the collection and curation of associated voucher specimens can play a critical role [in] identifying the wildlife sources of emerging zoonotic diseases in humans."
He also emphasized the importance of studying museum collections.
"We can and should further mine museums for new species," Hinckley said. "There are surely plenty of other mammal species that were collected during the last century and that are awaiting to be identified in these institutions."
Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about biodiversity? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
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About the writer
Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more
