Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon Part 23

I think it should properly come after the moles, which it resembles in some particulars.

FAMILY ERINACEIDAE--THE HEDGEHOGS.

The molar teeth broad; the hinder ones nearly square, the tubercles on their upper surface rounded; the other teeth are three incisors on each side, of which the inner one is considerably larger than the rest; behind these, separated by a little gap, come three premolars gradually increasing in size, then one having much the appearance of a true molar, but furnished with a cutting edge; then three molar teeth, two of which are nearly square with strong tubercles. The last molar is small. In the lower jaw the lowermost incisor is very large, and projects almost horizontally forwards, and it is followed by three small teeth now acknowledged to be premolars, with another large premolar, which is of the nature of a carna.s.sial or cutting tooth acting on the one in the upper jaw. Then three molars as above, two large and one small, but with sharp tubercles. The skull has a more carnivorous form; it has "a complete zygomatic arch, and the tympanic bone forms a bundle-like swelling on each side of the back of the skull." Feet pentadactylous or five-toed; legs very short.

The tibia and fibula (two bones of the shank) are joined together.

The back is clothed with hair intermixed with sharp spines or bristles. Tail short or wanting entirely.

[Figure: Dent.i.tion of Hedgehog.]

_GENUS ERINACEUS_.

The European hedgehog is well known to most of us. Few boys who have lived a country life have been without one at some time or other as a pet. I used to keep mine in a hole at the root of an old apple-tree, which was my special property, and they were occasionally brought into the house at the cook's request to demolish the black-beetles in the kitchen. These they devour with avidity and pursue them with the greatest ardour. They also eat slugs, worms, and snails; worms they seize and eat from end to end, like a Neapolitan boy with a string of maccaroni, slowly masticating, the unconsumed portion being constantly transferred from one side of the mouth to the other, so that both sides of the jaws may come into play. Dr. Dallas quaintly remarks on the process: "This must be an unpleasant operation for the worm, much as its captor may enjoy it." Toads, frogs, mice, and even snakes are eaten by the European hedgehog. It would be interesting to find out whether the Indian hedgehog also attacks snakes; even the viper in Europe is devoured by this animal, who apparently takes little heed of its bite. The European species also eats eggs when it can get them, and I have no doubt does much damage to those birds who make their nests on the ground.

Few dogs will tackle a hedgehog, for the little creature at once rolls itself into a spiny ball, all sharp p.r.i.c.kles, by means of the contraction of a set of cutaneous muscles, the most important of which, the _orbicularis panniculi_, form a broad band encircling the body which draws together the edges of the spiny part of the skin.

There is a most interesting account of the mechanism of the spines in Mr. F. Buckland's notes to White's 'Natural History of Selborne,'

vol. ii., page 76. A jet of water poured on to the part within which the head is concealed will make the creature unroll, and it is said that foxes and some dogs have discovered a way of applying this plan, and also that foxes will roll a hedgehog into a ditch or pond, and thus make him either expose himself to attack or drown. Gipsies eat hedgehogs, and consider them a delicacy--the meat being white and as tender as a chicken (not quite equal to porcupine, I should say); they cook them by rolling them in clay, and baking them till the clay is dry; when the ball is broken open the p.r.i.c.kles come off with the crust.

[Figure: Hedgehog.]

Hedgehogs have had several popular fallacies concerning them. They were supposed to suck cows dry during the night and to be proof against poisons. Mr. Frank Buckland tried prussic acid on one with fatal results, but he says the bite of a viper seemed to have no effect.

Pallas, I know, has remarked that hedgehogs will eat hundreds of cantharides beetles with impunity, whereas one or two will cause extreme agony to a cat or dog. The female goes with young about seven weeks, and she has from three to eight in number. The little ones when born have soft spines--which, however, soon harden--are blind, and, with the exception of the rudimentary p.r.i.c.kles, quite naked.

They are white at birth, but in about a month acquire the colour of the mother.

NO. 150. ERINACEUS COLLARIS.

_The Collared Hedgehog_ (_Jerdon's No. 85_).

HABITAT.--Northern India and Afghanistan. Dallas says from Madras to Candahar; but Jerdon calls it the North Indian hedgehog, and a.s.signs to it the North-west, Punjab, and Sind, giving Southern India to the next species.

DESCRIPTION.--Spines irregularly interwoven, ringed with white and black, with yellowish tips, or simply white and black, or black with a white ring in the middle; ears large; chin white; belly and legs pale brown.

SIZE.--Head and body, 8 to 9 inches; tail, 7/12 inch.

I have found this species in the Punjab near Lah.o.r.e. One evening, whilst walking in the dusk, a small animal, which I took to be a rat, ran suddenly between my legs. Now I confess to an antipathy to rats, and, though I would not willingly hurt any animal, I could not resist an impulsive kick, which sent my supposed rat high in the air. I felt a qualm of conscience immediately afterwards, and ran to pick up my victim, and was sorry to find I had perpetrated such an a.s.sault on an unoffending little hedgehog, which was however only stunned, and was carried off by me to the Zoological Gardens. Captain Hutton writes of them that they feed on beetles, lizards, and snails; "when touched they have the habit of suddenly jerking up the back with some force so as to p.r.i.c.k the fingers or mouth of the a.s.sailant, and at the same time emitting a blowing sound, not unlike the noise produced when blowing upon a flame with a pair of bellows." He also says they are very tenacious of life, bearing long abstinence with apparent ease; when alarmed they roll themselves up into a ball like the European species.

Hutton also remarks that _E. collaris_, on hearing a noise, jerks the skin and quills of its neck completely over its head, leaving only the tip of the nose free.

NO. 151. ERINACEUS MICROPUS.

_The Small-footed Hedgehog_ (_Jerdon's No. 86_).

HABITAT.--South India.

DESCRIPTION.--"Ears moderately large; form somewhat elongated; tail very short, concealed; feet and limbs very small; head and ears nude, sooty-coloured; belly very thinly clad with yellowish hairs; spines ringed dark brown and whitish, or whitish with a broad brown sub-terminal ring, tipped white."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body about 6 inches. Dr. Anderson considers this as identical with _E. collaris_.

NO. 152. ERINACEUS PICTUS.

_The Painted Hedgehog_.

HABITAT.--Central India, Goona, Ulwar, Agra, Kurrachee.

DESCRIPTION.--Similar to the above, but the tips of the spines are more broadly white, and the brown bands below not so dark; the ears are somewhat larger than _micropus_, and the feet narrower and not so long.

NO. 153. ERINACEUS GRAYI.

HABITAT.--North-west India.

DESCRIPTION.--The general colour is blackish-brown; the spines are narrowly tipped with black, succeeded by a narrowish yellow band; then a blackish-brown band, the rest of the spine being yellowish; the broad dark-brown band is so strongly developed as to give the animal its dark appearance when viewed from the side; some animals are, however, lighter than others. The feet are large; the fore-feet broad, somewhat truncated, with moderately long toes and powerful claws.

SIZE.--Head and body about 6-3/4 inches.

NO. 154. ERINACEUS BLANFORDI (_Anderson_).

HABITAT.--Sind, where one specimen was obtained by Mr. W. T.

Blanford, at Rohri.

DESCRIPTION.--Muzzle rather short, not much pointed; ears moderately large, but broader than long, and rounded at the tips; feet larger and broader than in the next species, with the first toe more largely developed than in the last. The spines meet in a point on the forehead, and there is no bare patch on the vertex. Each spine is broadly tipped with deep black, succeeded by a very broad yellow band, followed by a dusky brown base; fur deep brown; a few white hairs on chin and anterior angle of ear.

SIZE.--Head and body, 5.36 inches.

NO. 155. ERINACEUS JERDONI (_Anderson_).

HABITAT.--Sind, Punjab frontier.

DESCRIPTION.--Muzzle moderately long and pointed; ears large, round at tip and broad at base; feet large, especially the fore-feet; claws strong. The spines begin on a line with the anterior margins of the ears; large nude area on the vertex; spines with two white and three black bands, beginning with a black band. When they are laid flat the animal looks black; but an erection the white shows and gives a variegated appearance.

SIZE.--Head and body about 7-1/2 inches.

NO. 156. ERINACEUS MEGALOTIS.

_The Large-eared Hedgehog_.

HABITAT.--Afghanistan.

More information is required about this species. Jerdon seems to think it may be the same as described by Pallas (_E. auritus_), which description I have before me now ('Zoographica Rosso Asiatica,' vol.

i. page 138), but I am unable to say from comparison that the two are identical--the ears and the muzzle are longer than in the common hedgehog. This is the species which he noticed devouring blistering beetles with impunity. It has a very delicate fur of long silky white hairs, covering the head, breast and abdomen, "forming also along the sides a beautiful ornamental border" (_Horsfield_, from a specimen brought from Mesopotamia by Commander Jones, I.N.)

The s.p.a.ce to which I am obliged to limit myself will not allow of my describing at greater length; but to those of my readers who are interested in the Indian hedgehogs, I recommend the paper by Dr. J.

Anderson in the 'Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal' for 1878, page 195, with excellently drawn plates of the heads, skulls and feet of the various species. There is one peculiarity which he notices regarding the skull of _E. collaris_ (or, as he calls it, _micropus_): the zygomatic arch is not continuous as in the other species, but is broken in the middle, the gap being caused by the absence of the _malar_ or cheek-bone. In this respect it resembles, though Dr. Anderson does not notice it, the _Centetidae_ or _Tanrecs_ of Madagascar.

Dr. Anderson's cla.s.sification is very simple and good. He has two groups: the first, containing _E. micropus_ and _E. pictus_, is distinguished by the _second upper premolar simple, one-fanged, the feet club-shaped; soles tubercular_. The second group, containing _E. Grayi_, _E. Blanfordi_ and _E. Jerdoni_, has _the second upper premolar compound, three-fanged, and the feet well developed and broad_. The first group has also a division or bare area on the vertex; the second has not.