The southern white-breasted hedgehog occurs in the Mediterranean region. Like other Erinaceus hedgehogs, it searches for food at night and protects itself with its spines.
Protective spines cover its back and crown; they can rise when it feels threatened. A white chest patch is common in E. concolor.
Near Ula in Muğla, Turkey, researchers encountered a Southern White-Breasted Hedgehog crossing a road in a stone-pine plantation. They examined a fecal sample found nearby and checked its contents under a microscope. Fungal tissue and spores made up at least 90% of the sample by volume.
The tissue resembled fungi in the false-truffle genus Rhizopogon, and Rhizopogon vulgaris fruiting bodies were abundant in the surrounding area. This report documents a fungus in the hedgehog’s diet. The researchers examined one sample from one individual, making it a direct record of a single feeding event.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
A hedgehog fecal sample from a Turkish stone-pine plantation contained fungal tissue and spores amounting to at least 90% of its volume.