Con numerose sottospecie (Erinaceus europaeus amurensis, Erinaceus europaeus centralrossicus, Erinaceus europaeus concolor, Erinaceus europaeus consolei, Erinaceus europaeus dealbatus, Erinaceus europaeus europaeus, Erinaceus europaeus hispanicus, Erinaceus europaeus italicus, Erinaceus europaeus koreensis, Erinaceus europaeus occidentalis), si è diffuso in gran parte dell’Europa: a nord, fino alle zone costiere della Penisola scandinava e ad est, fino alla Siberia. Inoltre è stato introdotto in Gran Bretagna ed Irlanda dove, in alcuni casi, è risultato nocivo.
The common hedgehog, sometimes also called European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus Linnaeus), is a mammal of the family Erinaceidae, which is often improperly called the name porcospino (which instead refers to the hedgehog). The hedgehog has archaic morphological characteristics (such as the dental formula and the shape of the brain) that unites it to the first mammals appeared on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous, compared to which it has not differentiated much: over the course of millions of years it has only evolved the coating of quills that so much characterizes him in the eyes of man.
With numerous subspecies (Erinaceus europaeus amurensis, Erinaceus europaeus centralrossicus, Erinaceus europaeus concolor, Erinaceus europaeus consolei, Erinaceus europaeus dealbatus, Erinaceus europaeus europaeus, Erinaceus europaeus hispanicus, Erinaceus europaeus italicus, Erinaceus europaeus koreensis, Erinaceus europaeus occidentalis), part of Europe: to the north, up to the coastal areas of the Scandinavian peninsula and to the east, up to Siberia. It was also introduced in Great Britain and Ireland where, in some cases, it was harmful.
