1895.] HEDGEHOG FROM SOiLiLILAIfD. 417 



number of septa in the spines of a species is subject to considerable 

 variation — in E. sdateri the lowest number being 21 and the highest 

 26, but, among spines of 88 specimens of the genus, I have found 

 the variation to be even greater than this. 



The fur of this species has the coarse texture of E. europcf^is, 

 and distinctive of all the smooth-spined Hedgehogs, whereas in the 

 ridged-spined forms the hair is soft and silky. 



In E. sdateri, as in all the existing species of the genus, with 

 the exception of E. eurojxrus and E. pictus, the third upper incisor 

 has two roots. In the former it has always one, but in the latter 

 the condition of the teeth varies, as in three out of four skulls the 

 third upper incisor has only one root ; but this is probably due to 

 the union of two roots, or to incipient division, as the root in 

 these teeth is marked by a longitudinal furrow on each side. In 

 the fourth skull the tooth has two distinct roots. 



This species {E. sdaUri) has a double-rooted canine, which is 

 the general character of this tooth throughout the genus. In 

 E. europcms, however, the canine has usually only one root ; but 

 there are exceptions, as in five out of fifteen individuals observed 

 by me it has two roots, while in the widely different E. pidus one 

 out of four specimens examined has the tooth with only one root. 

 The instability of the rooting of this tooth is further evinced by a 

 skull of E. europceus in which the canine has a single root on one, 

 and tMo roots on the opposite side. In E. concolor, which is very 

 closely allied to E. europceiis, the canine has two roots, as in 

 E. alriirus. 



In E. sdateri the first upper premolar, as in E. algirus, E. fron- 

 talis. E. alhiventris, E. cdhiopicus, and E. viacr acanthus, has two 

 roots ; whereas in E. europceus, E. concolor, E. jndus, and E. micro- 

 pus it has usually one root. On the other hand, in the forms that 

 can be grouped with E. auritus, such as E. mer/aloiis and E. grayi, 

 the first upper premolar may have either one or two roots. 



The second upper premolar of E. sdateri has three roots, which 

 is the general character of this tooth throughout the genus, with 

 the exception of those species in which it is very feebly developed 

 and occasionally shed even before the other teeth become worn, and 

 in which it has only a single root. These species are E. micropnis, 

 E. pictus, and also E. (eihiojjicus ; but in the last I have met with 

 an example with a double-rooted second upper premolar. Among 

 the species in which it generally has three roots exceptions also 

 occur, as Dr. Scully has recorded an instance (E. megalotis) in 

 which only two roots are present, and I have observed three similar 

 cases in E. grayi, a species which with E. megalotis may. possibly, 

 be ultimately regarded as only varieties or local races of E. a^iritus — 

 an opinion which has already been expressed by Dobson. 



The following are the external characters of this species : — 



Snout short ; ears broadly rounded, but not so high as the inter- 

 aural spines. Teet well developed ; poUex twice as large as the 

 hallux. Two large pads below the wrist, placed side by side, the 

 external pad the larger. The fifth toe twice as large as the hallux ; 



Peoc. Zool. Soc— 1895, No. XXVII. 27 



