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 vast material displacements the machine has made in our physical environment are perhaps in the long run less important than its spiritual contributions to our culture.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)