82 MAMMALIA. FER.E. 



the ground ; fore-feet generally with five toes ; molar teeth 

 crowned with pointed tubercles ; canines sometimes very long, 

 sometimes very short ; incisors variable in number ; body 

 covered with hair or prickles. 



1st Division. Two long incisors in front, followed by other 

 incisors, or false canines, shorter than the molars. 



Gen. 55. ERINACEUS, Lin. Pall. Geoff. Cuv. &c. 



Incisors f , canines \-{ 9 molars f-f , = 34. Intermediate up- 

 per incisors separate, cylindrical ; canines smaller than the 

 molars ; body thick, covered with prickles above and stiff 

 hairs below, capable of rolling up into a ball ; muzzle pointed ; 

 ears medium size, or very short and rounded ; toes armed 

 with strong nails ; tail short, or none ; ten mammae, six 

 pectoral, and four ventral ; no ccecum ; clavicles complete. 



E. Europceus, Lin. Common Hedgehog. Ears short ; prickles 



about an inch long, in diverging clusters, with the points white. 



About a foot long. Penn. Quad. tab. 28, fig. 3. 



Var. A. Nose prolonged like that of a hog. 



Var. B Nose shorter, spinous mantle less extended. 



The hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, concealing themselves during the day, and 

 coming out at night to feed. Their food is chiefly insects and their larvae, snails, 

 eggs, and fruits, and some even eat with impunity the cantharides and other ve- 

 sicating insects. They become extremely fat towards autumn, and pass the winter 

 in torpidity in holes previously prepared. Their gait is heavy, and their intel- 

 ligence very limited. Their period of gestation is not exactly known ; but the 

 young at birth have their eyes and ears closed. When alarmed they roll themselves 

 up like a ball, and present a surface of erected spines to their enemies. The com- 

 mon hedgehog is found in all the temperate parts of Europe. 



E. auritus, Geoff. Pallas. Hedgehog of Egypt. Muzzle short ; ears 

 two- thirds the length of the head. A little smaller than the 

 hedgehog of Europe. Astracan, Egypt, &c Griff. An. King. 170. 



E. Malaccensis, Lin. Desm. (Hi/strix brachyura Lin.) Muzzle 

 short; ears pretty short, pendant; spines very long, directed paral- 

 lel to one another. Eight inches long. Java, &c Shaw, i. pi. 121. 



Gen. 56. SOREX, Lin. Cuv. Desm. 



Incisors , spurious canines, or lateral incisors |-|, or |-|, true 

 molars |-|, = 28 or 30. Upper middle incisors hooked and 

 dentated at the base ; molars crowned with points ; head 

 much elongated ; nose prolonged and moveable ; ears short, 

 rounded ; eyes small, but perceptible ; tail more or less long, 

 often angular ; feet with weak toes, separated, furnished with 

 crooked nails; teats six or eight; sebaceous glands on the flanks. 



S. araneus, Lin. Shrew Mouse. Ears large and naked, with two 

 folds or lobes within; fur mouse-coloured, paler below; tail 

 square, a little shorter than the body. About two inches long, 

 weighing three drachms. Inhabits Europe. B Shaw, i. pi. 118. 



