OCR Text |
Show •*"97.] MAMMALS FROM MOROCCO. 955 4. ERINACEUS ALGIRUS, DUV. & Lereb. Erinaceus algirus, Duvernoy & Lereboullet, M e m . Soc. Strasb. m. 1840, fasc. 2, p. 4; Anderson, B. Z. S. 1895, p. 419. 2 specimens, <$ 2 • Schaf el Kab and Bas el Ain, Haha. The white forehead and underparts usually characteristic of this species cannot be taken as constant. The specimen from Schaf el K ab has the dirty drab-brown colouring generally found in E. europceus. The size and colour of the claws will always distinguish these species outwardly : in E. algirus the claws are narrower and pale horn-coloured in the dry skin, while in E. europceus they are stronger and black. There is no appreciable difference in the texture of the hair of the underparts, and certainly nothing to account for the stress laid by Duvernoy on the softness of the fur in the type specimen. The skulls of these two species are very readily distinguished. Viewed from above that of Fig. 1. Skull of Erinaceus algirus (top view). 1£ nat. size. E. algirus (fig. 1) has much broader nasals, and the sagittal crest for attachment of the muscles extends on to the frontals to fully half their length in the middle line, while in E. europceus this ridge is confined to the parietals. Viewed from beneath, the palatal 63* |