An introduction to the study of mammals living and extinct / by William Henry Flower and Richard Lydekker.

Date:
1891
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to the study of mammals living and extinct / by William Henry Flower and Richard Lydekker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    species, G. raffled and G. suillu, from the Malay Penisula and Indian Archipelago. The former has the appearance of a large Rat with a long tail and head and projecting mobile snout; the latter, which is much smaller, with a short tail and small third upper premolar, has long been known under the name of Hylomys suillus, and classed with the Tupaiicke. Both species present a very generalised type of dentition, in this respect occupying an almost central position in the order. G. suilla is represented in Mount Kina-Balu, Borneo, by a variety characterised by the presence of a dark dorsal streak. Many zoologists prefer to retain Hylomys as a distinct genus. Subfamily Erinaeeinse.—Palate imperfectly ossified; pelvis wide ; fiu- -with spines. Urinaceus}—Dentition : i f, c i f, m f; total 36. The first pair of upper incisors (Fig. 285) are considerably larger than the others, and are widely separated from one another in the middle line; the canine is very simi- lar to the third in- cisor ; and, except in H. europaius (Fig. 285), each of these teeth is inserted by two distinct roots (Fig. 280, p. 610). Pio. 285.—Right lateral aspect of the anterior portion of the The first lower in- skuU of the Hedgehog {Erinamis mropceus). Enlarged. (From cisOr is large and Dobson, Proc. 2ooL Soo. ISSl, p. 403.) prOclivOUS. The number of vertebrae is C 7, D 15, L 6, S 3, C 11. The Hedgehogs comprise nearly twenty species, distributed throughout Europe, Africa, and the greater part of Asia, but not found in Madagascar, Ceylon, Burma, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, or Australia. All the species resemble one another in the armature of spines investing the upper surface and sides of the body; and all possess the power of rolling themselves up into the form of a ball, protected on all sides by the strong spines ; the dorsal integument being brought downwards and inwards over the head and°tail, so as to include the limbs also, by the action of special muscles. The common Hedghog {E. europmis) is the most aberrant species, differing from all the rest in the peculiarly shaped and single-rooted third upper incisor and canine (Fig. 285), and m its very coarse, harsh fur. The dentition of the long-eared ISorth Indian form, E. coUaris (Fig. 280), may be considered characteristic of all the other species, the only important differences being found 1 Liun. Sysl. Nat. 12tli ed. vol. i. p. 75 (1766).