62 £BIKAC£ID7E. 



to approach the form of that of some of the smaller Caniivora. They 

 are only found in the old continent. 



Gen. Erinaceus, Linnseus. 



g 3 



Char, — Dental formula, according to Owen, incisors 5 — ^ ; prssmolars 



- — -; molars 5 — 5-; total 36 teeth. Upper middle incisors distant ; lower 



ones procumhent ; no canines ; molars with the crown square, tuberculate ; 

 snout lengthened; ears moderate; tail yery short; body densely covered 

 with spines on the back and sides, with hairs and bristles beneath. 



The skin of the back is furnished with muscles which enable the animal 

 to roll itself into a ball, so as to present spines on every side. Hedgehogs 

 hybemate in cold countries, but do not burrow, concealing^ themselves 

 under leaves, in hollow trees, ditches, and under thick bushes. They feed 

 chieiiy on insects, also on slugs, frogs, mice, snakes, and eggs. They have 

 even been accused of killing young levrets ; and are said at times to partake 

 of vegetable food. They are nocturnal in their habits. The female pro- 

 duces as many as six, or seven yoxmg sometimes, at a birth. 



85. Erinaceus coUaris. 



Gray, figd. Hasdwiokb, 111, Ind. Zool. — Blyth, Cat. 236. — Probably 

 JEJ. Grarji, Bennett. 



The Noeth-Indian Hedgehog. 



Descr. — Ears long; spines irregularly interwoven, apiculated with 

 yellow, and ringed white and black ; or white on the basal half, and jet 

 black on the upper half, some with the base and tip black, white in the 

 middle ; ears, and chin as far as the ears, white ; belly and feet pale-brown. 



Length, 8 to 9 inches ; tail, -j^ths. 



This hedgehog is found in the North-west Provinces of India, the 

 Punjab, and Sindh. It is stated to occur in the Doab, i. e., between the 

 Jumna and Ganges, but I have only seen it myself west of the Jumna, about 

 Hansi and Hissar. Adams states that, it is found in the Deccan, and also 

 in the lower Himalayan ranges. Hutton, who observed it at Bhawalpore, 

 states that, " their food consist of insects, chiefly of a small beetle of the 

 genus Blaps ; also of lizards, snails, &c." " They are," says he, "re- 

 markably tenacious of life, bearing long abstinence with apparent ease." 



