There are now five species of soft-furred hedgehogs known.

The animals belong to a group of hedgehogs called Hylomys, all of which live in Southeast Asia. There were previously only two known species, and this discovery brings the tally to seven.

They are small, long-nosed mammals and, while they are members of the same family as the more familiar hedgehog, are furry rather than spiny.

Dr. Arlo Hinckley, also from SMNH, said a discovery like this was “particularly important in Southeast Asia, which has the highest rates of deforestation in the world.”.

This is challenging when you are studying what Dr. Hawkins described as “little brown things” that live in dense forests.

To the non-expert eye, the diminutive mammals look alike, but the team found key differences in their genetic codes and differences in their physical shape, particularly their heads and teeth.

“Their skulls are really cool—they’re tiny, but they have these really sharp teeth,” said Dr. Hawkins.

“If they were bigger animals, they’d be pretty scary.”

The scientists named one particularly long-fanged species that they discovered in one of the museum collections: Hylomys macarong, a name derived from the Vietnamese word for “vampire.”.