212 On the Hedgehop of Palestine and Asia Minor. 



and the forms related to it from E. europceus and its allies. 

 This distinction rests mainly in the greater extension in the 

 former of the maxillary bones, which reach further back, so 

 as to coincide almost exactly with the muscular fossa* of 

 this region. In europwus, on the other hand, the fronto- 

 maxillary suture traverses the fossa a marked distance in 

 front of its hinder limit. 



Examination of the typical skull of E. coneolor now shows 

 that its structure is as in E. europosus, not as in E. roumani- 

 cus, and it therefore agrees with certain other forms of this 

 character which Satunin has shown to occur in Trans- 

 caucasia, so that it cannot be looked upon in any way as 

 abnormal. Moreover, the same author has described a dark 

 u E. ponticus" and a black " E. ponticus dbasgicus " from 

 the eastern shores of the Black Sea, which would show that 

 a naturally black hedgehog does occur in this region. Pro- 

 bably Satuuin's animals are, one or both, referable to 

 E. coneolor. 



This being the case, it is evident that the Palestine and 

 Asia Minor hedgehog, which belongs to the roumanicus type, 

 only needs comparison with the last-named species, of which 

 it may be considered. a subspecies, as follows : — 



Erinaceus roumanicus sacer, subsp. n. 



General colour brown, about as in E. europceus, the head 

 not blackened. Spines with one subterminal dark band. 

 Fur of face, chest, and fore-limbs with a considerable mixture 

 of white hairs, that of the sides and belly uniformly brown. 



Skull, on the whole, like that of roumanicus, but distin- 

 guished by the much greater length and development of the 

 lacrymal crests, which in that animal are reduced to a mere 

 projecting knob above the lacrymal foramen, but in the new 

 form are as long as in E. europceus, running back quite to 

 the hinder corner of the muscular fossa above referred to, 

 and being traceable further back still as a ridge across the 

 frontals. Transverse occipital crest relatively higher, pro- 

 jecting above the level of the brain-case. 



Dimensions of type : — 



Hind foot (c.) 39 mm. 



Skull : condylo-basal length 60 ; zygomatic breadth 37*5 ; 

 nasals 19'5 X 4 ; premaxillo-nasal suture 11; maxillo-nasal 

 suture 2*5 ; distance from posterior end of premaxillse to 

 upper hinder coiner of maxillae 11*5 ; interorbital breadth ] 7 ; 



* Apparently, judging from Dobson, that of the upper half of the 

 levator labii superioris proprms. 



