1895.] HEDGEHOG FEOil SOMALILA:>fD. 415 



had the opportunity of examining, in London, some of the speci- 

 mens described by Fitzinger, preserved in the Vienna Museum. 



After a careful consideration of all the materials which have 

 come under my observation, I have arrived at the conclusion that 

 this Hedgehog from Somaliland belongs to a species new to 

 science. I have found, in the British Sluseum, the skin of the 

 body (spines only) of a Hedgehog from Taf , in Central Somaliland, 

 which seems to be identical with it. The registered number of 

 this specimen is S5. 12.10.2. 



I propose to designate the new species E. sclateri. 



It belongs to that section of the genus in which the pterygoid 

 fossse are well-developed, and in which the pterygoids do not 

 contribute to the enlargement of the auditory chamber of the 

 macerated skuU. The foUowdng species, besides E. sclateri, fall 

 under this di^^sion, \az., E. eiiropceus, Linn., E. concolor, Martin, 

 E. algirus, Duv. & LerebouUet, E. frontalis, Smith, E. auntus, PaUas, 

 and those which are doubtfully distinct from the last, e.g., E. grai/i, 

 Bennett, E. megalotis, Blyth, and E. allulus, Stoliczka ; and, finally, 

 E. albiventris, Wagner, in which the hallux is absent, is also a 

 member of this group. In the second section of the genus the 

 pter3^goid fossse almost disappear, the pterygoids being enlarged 

 and buUate, the cavity contributing to the enlargement of the 

 auditory chamber of the prepared skull. The Hedgehogs which 

 present this type of cranial structiure are E. microhms, Blyth, 

 E. pictus, Stoliczka, E. cethiopiciis, Ehrenberg, and E. macr acanthus, 

 Blanford. 



The Hedgehogs of the first section are referable to two sub- 

 divisions, depending on the nature of the post-glenoid process of 

 the squamous. In one that process is solid and much smaller than 

 the mastoid, whereas in the other it is as large as the mastoid 

 process, and concave internally, but not buUate. 



The following species, viz., E. europceus, E. concolor, E. algirus, 

 E. frontalis, E. sclateri, and E. alhiventns, fall under the first of 

 these subdivisions, and E. auritiis and its allies already mentioned 

 under the second. 



All Hedgehogs belonging to the first subdivision, and of which 

 E. europceus may be regarded as the representative, have an area 

 from the forehead to the nape devoid of spines. Their spines are 

 perfectly smooth, that is they have no longitudinal ridges, and are 

 circular in transverse section. They present, however, a finely 

 striated appearance externally, due to the cells of their cuticular 

 covering. In the Hedgehogs of the second subdivision there is no 

 bare area on the mesial line of the head, and the spines are covered 

 with longitudinal ridges bearing minute nodosities. 



In the second great section of the genus with dilated pterygoids 

 the post-glenoid process of the squamous becomes greatly enlarged 

 antero-posteriorly, and hollowed out into a large buUate cavity 

 continuous with the auditory chamber of the macerated skull. The 

 Hedgehogs belonging to this type of skull, and of which E. cethi- 

 opicus may be regarded as the highest expression, have a bare area, 



