Crested Cow-Wheat vs Four-toed Hedgehog

Melampyrum cristatum compared with Atelerix albiventris

Key Differences

• Crested Cow-Wheat is Endangered while Four-toed Hedgehog is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Crested Cow-Wheat	Four-toed Hedgehog
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Lamiales (Lamiales)	Erinaceomorpha (Erinaceomorpha)
Family	Orobanchaceae	Erinaceidae
Genus	Melampyrum	Atelerix
Species	Melampyrum cristatum	Atelerix albiventris

Conservation Status

Crested Cow-Wheat

EN — Endangered

Four-toed Hedgehog

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Crested Cow-Wheat	Four-toed Hedgehog
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Crested Cow-Wheat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Four-toed Hedgehog

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Ecuador and Spain.