Dental Abnormalities in European and New Zealand Hedgehogs

Abstract

HERTER¹ examined the skulls of six hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus L., from Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, and found that three of them had dental abnormalities. One animal lacked both lower second incisors and the gap between the first and second premolars was wider than usual. The first two right premolars had not erupted in another animal, while a third hedgehog lacked a second lower incisor, and the canine on that side had moved forward to take its place. All thirty North European hedgehogs, compared with these New Zealand animals, had normal sets of teeth. Herter suggests that this abnormality may have resulted from a mutation which has occurred since the hedgehog's introduction to New Zealand seventy years ago.