INSECT-EATING MAMMALS 55 



Family: ERINACEID^. THE HEDGEHOGS 

 Erinaceus europaus. The Common Hedgehog 



The Hedgehog found in Britain shares with other members of 

 the genus Erinaceus the striking outward characteristic of hair 

 developed into sharp spines, which extend in a thick growth all 

 over the upper surface of the body from forehead to the rump. 

 The cheeks, throat, belly, and limbs are covered with coarse hair. 

 The hedgehog is coloured as follows in most adult specimens : — 

 The forehead, the short ears, the throat, chest, and all the under 

 parts except the limbs are yellowish-white or pale buff. The 

 ■snout and muzzle are blackish-gray. At a distance the spines are 

 coloured a warm brown shot with white and black, the spines 

 being grayish-white at the tips, but brownish-black or black and 

 brown in the middle of their length. The length of head and 

 body is about ten inches, and the tail is another inch and a half. 

 The tail is naked above and hairy on the under surface. The 

 ear conches are broad and round. They are quite short, and are 

 partially hidden by the coarse hair of the forehead. The claws 

 are long and grooved, but weak. The muzzle ends in a snout- 

 like nose. The legs are so short that the creature almost touches 

 the ground with its belly as it walks. The pig-like snout, short 

 neck, long body, and bristles are so suggestive of a miniature hog 

 that the common English name is a very apt one. 



The hedgehog's peculiarity of teeth should be noted, as it is 

 of interest in several ways. There are three pairs of incisors, 

 one pair of canines, three pairs of premolars, and three of molars 

 in the upper jaw ; in the lower jaw the incisors are reduced to 

 two pairs and the premolars to two pairs also. The inner pair 

 of incisors in the upper jaw are very long and tusk-like, and 

 are separated from one another by a short interval. The 

 companion pair of inner incisors in the lower jaw are also long, 

 and are proclivous, that is to say, placed in a horizontal position. 

 The exceptional size of these teeth and their position quite 

 suggest a foreshadowing of the way in which the Rodents may 

 have developed from a low type of Eutherian mammal allied (as 



