360 Mr, G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton on 



L. — Note on the Common Hedgehog (Erinaceus europjeus, 

 Linnaus) and its Subspecies or Local Variations. By 

 G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton. 



A COLLECTION of small mammals recentlj made by the late 

 Mr. W. Dodson in Roumania included two hedgehogs which 

 differ considerably from ordinary British and Continental 

 animals in their coloration. In naming them I have been 

 obliged to overhaul the whole series in the collection of the 

 British Museum, and it may be well to here summarize the 

 result of my work. 



The colours of the hedgehog are so dull that they do not at 

 first sight seem to afford much scope for extensive local 

 variations as compared with those of other mammals. So far 

 as the specimens of the common species at my disposal go, 

 this is borne out only to a certain extent — that is to say, 

 while 1 know of no brilliant local developments, there are yet 

 wide diflerences in colour between the liedgehogs, say, of 

 Mount Lebanon, of South Spain, and of Great Britain. But 

 those who wish to see for themselves what striking develop- 

 ments may,under the influence of natural selection, be evolved 

 from so apparenlly poor material should look at the specimens 

 of other genera and species from the Ethiopian and Oriental 

 Regions. In some of these blacks and whites are used 

 with very conspicuous effect ; but the brightest form of 

 which I have seen a &\)ec\mtn\s, E. frontalis, Smith, of South 

 Africa, with its almost orange frontal patch and brilliantly 

 tinted spines. 



The colour of the underside and other haired surfaces of 

 our common British hedgehog is due to a mixture in variable 

 proportions of dirty brown and dirty white hairs. Some 

 specimens are altogether brown, but in others there is a con- 

 siderable quantity of the dirty white hairs, which do not, 

 however, assume any particular discernible pattern or arrange- 

 ment. The lightest skins which I have seen are those of two 

 quite small individuals collected by Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant 

 in Elgin, Scotland. They have the underside and the nose 

 nearly white, but possess a dark not very well-defined breast- 

 spot and traces of a dark median ventral area. 



The spines of the upper surface are marked with an alter- 

 nation of black or dark brown and dirty white annulations, 

 usually in three bands, of which the central is dark, while the 

 two extremities of the spines are light. A small dark tip 

 may or may not be present. 



