ORDER CARNASSIER. 171 



gives it but a conditional place among them, as he seems 

 to consider that its general appearance, and the form and 

 length of its spines approximate it more to the Porcupines. 

 We are not yet sufficiently acquainted with its system of 

 dentition to assign it a determinate place in the Baron's 

 classifications of the animal kingdom. Indeed all we know 

 of the animal is from the figure, and very short description 

 given of it by Seba, Its eyes are large and brilliant. The 

 ears almost naked and pendulous. Its spines are from five to 

 six inches in length, and are variegated with white, black, 

 or reddish colours. There are soft hairs between those 

 spines. The hairs of the under part of the body are red. 

 Of its peculiar habits little or nothing is known. From 

 this species was said to be procured the stone called piedra 

 del porco, which was formerly held in high estimation for 

 its medicinal virtues, and is probably a kind of bezoar. The 

 habitat of this Erinaceus, or perhaps Hystrix, are the 

 islands of Java and Sumatra, but principally the peninsula 

 of Malacca. 



In addition to the species which we have now enumerated, 

 some naturalists admit two others into the genus Erina- 

 ceus. The first is the Hedgehog of Siberia, called Erinaceus 

 Sibiricus, by Erxleben, Brisson, and Klein. It presents no 

 very material points of dissimilarity to our Hedgehogs, ex- 

 cept that its ears are flat and short, its nostrils are not 

 fringed, its spines are red, and their points are of a golden 

 yellow. The lower parts of the body are covered with hairs 

 of a clear ash-colour, and slightly shaded with yellow. 

 Sonnini considers it only to be a variety of the European 

 Hedgehog. It has been rarely seen, and we are not aware 

 of any existing figure of it. 



The second is the Earless Hedgehog (Erinaceus Inauris), 

 also called the Hedgehog of America. It is known only by 

 a figure and short description given by Seba. The ears 

 have no external conque, and the spines are ash-coloured, 

 approaching to yellow. The fore-part of the head, the 



