Pholidocercus is an extinct monotypic genus of mammal from the Messel pit related to and resembling the modern-day hedgehog with a single species, Pholidocercus hassiacus. Like the hedgehog, it was covered in thin spines. Unlike hedgehogs, it had scales on its head in a helmet-like formation, and had a long, thick, scaled tail.
| Pholidocercus Temporal range: Early Eocene, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| P. hassiacus at the HMNS | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | †Amphilemuridae |
| Genus: | †Pholidocercus von Koenigswald & Storch, 1983 |
| Type species | |
| P. hassiacus von Koenigswald & Storch, 1983 | |
