Physical Description
The four-toed hedgehog is an oval-bodied animal between 15 and 25 centimetres (5.9 and 9.8 in) in length and weighing between 250 and 600 grams (8.8 and 21 oz). Females are typically larger than males. It has short legs, short tail typically around 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) in length, a long nose, and small beady eyes. The ears and whiskers are both relatively large, implying that the animal has good senses. As its common name implies, and unlike related species, the four-toed hedgehog typically has only four toes on each foot, lacking the hallux. However, in some individuals, a small bony lump may be present in place of the hallux, or there may even be a well-developed toe, especially on the hind feet.
It can vary greatly in colouration, but typical wild specimens have brown or grey spines with white or cream colored tips. The fur on the body is speckled grey in color, with brown around the muzzle, and white face, legs, and underparts. The upper body is covered in spines varying from 0.5 to 1.7 centimetres (0.20 to 0.67 in) in length, being longest on the upper surface of the head. The spines are variably colored, but always have a white base and tip.
Males have an externally visible penis, located in the mid-abdomen, but the testicles are recessed into pouches close to the anus. Females may have anything from two to five pairs of teats.
Read more about this topic: Four-toed Hedgehog
Famous quotes containing the words physical and/or description:
“The struggle for existence holds as much in the intellectual as in the physical world. A theory is a species of thinking, and its right to exist is coextensive with its power of resisting extinction by its rivals.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“It is possible—indeed possible even according to the old conception of logic—to give in advance a description of all ‘true’ logical propositions. Hence there can never be surprises in logic.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)