Scientists have discovered five new species of soft-furred hedgehogs from South East Asia. The revelation required several scientific missions to the animals’ tropical forest home to study them. Researchers also re-evaluated specimens of the mammals which had been in museum collections for decades. This detailed, biological spot-the-difference study revealed that two of the animals in the museums were new species to science.
Three others – that had been categorised as subtypes of one species – were confirmed to be sufficiently distinct from each other to be formally recognised as individual species. One of the lead researchers, Dr Melissa Hawkins, from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (SMNH), told BBC News that the discovery showed the “amazing” diversity of life on our planet still to be revealed.
“We think we know about the natural world,” said Dr Hawkins, “but even groups like mammals – especially the little things that live in difficult-to-reach habitats – we really don’t know much at all. “Finding animals like these could bring some attention to [rainforest] ecosystems that are very threatened,” she said.
