What is "gymnure"

n. A type of carnivorous mammal, related to the hedgehogs and resembling large rats, which inhabits various parts of south-east Asia.

The gymnure, also called a hairy hedgehog or moonrat, is a type of mammal belonging to the subfamily Galericinae, in the family Erinaceidae and the order Eulipotyphla. Gymnures resemble rats but are not closely related as they are not rodents: they are instead closely related to hedgehogs. They are thought to have appeared in Eastern Asia before their closest relatives, and changed little from the original ancestor, which is thought to have been also the ancestor of the shrews.