Supercompleteness of skull in hedgehogs (Erinaceidae, Insectivora) in Russia and adjacent areas

摘要

A characteristic morphological structure for hedgehogs from the genus Erinaceus in the North Caucasus was found to be the unpaired supplementary bone located between the frontal and parietal bones. This specific feature is atavism for Trancacasian hedgehogs. The results obtained, as a result of studying Russian collections of hedgehogs, revealed that hedges from the North Caucasus and Transcaucasus had different evolutionary peculiarities. The concept of taxonomists on occurrence of a single hedgehog species in the Caucasus is not consistent with the new data. The presence of the unpaired supplementary bone permits one also to divide European hedgehogs into two groups.