1908.] mammals from northern china. qgs' 



2. Erinaceus miodon. 



Thos. Abstr. P. Z. S. 1908, p. 44 (Dec. 15). 



c? . 1846, 1853, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1862, 1869, 1871, 1873. Yu- 

 lin-fu, Shen-si. 4000'. 



A pale-brown species allied to A', decdbatus Swinlioe ; no wholly 

 white spines intermixed with the brown-ringed ones. P^ much 

 smaller than in £J. dealhatus. 



Size about as in E. dealhatus. Spines of back about 22-24 mm. 

 in lengtli, white for two-thirds their length, then broadly ringed 

 with blackish brown, the ring about 4 mm. in breadth, the 

 terminal 3-4 mm. Avhite (or the very extreme point darker again, 

 but not enough to aflect the general tone). No Avholly Avhite spines 

 present. The resulting general colour * of the whole animal is 

 near " drab." Ears Avell haired. Head, sides, limbs, and tail 

 varying from dull wdiitish, or brownish wdiite, to distinctly brown 

 (" broccoli-brown"), the colour of the hairy part being evidently a 

 character of little value. Belly always lighter, sometimes quite 

 white. 



Skull of about the same geneial proportions as in E. dealbahis. 

 Zygomata rather more abruptly expanded anteriorly. Premaxillse- 

 extending backwards in a narrow point, which in most cases 

 reaches a forwardly projecting point of the frontal s, thus completely 

 cutting off the maxillse from the nasals ; in two cases, however, 

 the premaxillary and frontal points do not reach each other, so 

 that there is a short naso-maxillary suture, and it is evident that 

 the details of these sutures should only be used with very great 

 caution as distinguishing characters. In the four specimens that 

 I refer to E. dealhatus there is a long naso-maxillary suture. 



Teeth at once distinguishable from those of E. dealhatus by 

 the conspicuously smaller size of p', and in a lesser degree of Pg 

 and the upper and lower canines. P^ forms a nearly equal-sided 

 triangle, its greatest diameter rarely exceeding 2 mm., wdiile in 

 E. dealhatus it is much broader than long, its transverse diameter: 

 being 3*4 mm. (in the type) and upwards. 



Dimensions of the type, measured in the flesh : — 



Head and body 215 mm. ; tail 42 : hind foot 40 (range from 

 35) ; ear 34-5. 



Skull — condylo-basal length 53 mm. ; greatest breadth 36 ; 

 nasals 14-5 (diagonally) x 3 ; interorbital breadth 18 ; palatal 

 length 29 ; front of i^ to back of m' 27. 



Hab. as above. 



Tyjye. Adult male. B.M. No. 9.1.1.9. Original number 1871. 

 Collected 11 May, 1908. 



This Hedghog looks externally very like Swinhoe's E. dealhatus, 



* Even so speckled an animal as a Hedg:hog, when seen far oft", may be said to 

 have a "general colour" resulting from the intermingling of all the colours on the 

 surface, and it is in this sense that I alwaj's use the term when describing mammals. 

 Some writers speak of " general colour " for what I should term " ground-colour," a 

 verj' different thing. .' ' 



