A Comparative Morphological and Karyological Study on Hedgehogs, Erinaceus concolor Martin, 1838 and Hemiechinus auritus (Gmelin, 1770) (Erinaceomorpha: Mammalia) in Diyarbakir Province

Abstract

In this study, we examined the morphological and karyological characteristics of Hemiechinus auritus and Erinaceus concolor (4 male, 3 female) in Diyarbakir province. The karyotypes of E. concolor (2n = 48) and H. auritus (2n = 48) were found similar and but distinctly all the autosomal chromosomes of both species were determined to be biarmed in contrast to the some previously published accounts. There are obvious differences on the tooth roots that could be used in key to genera between Hemiechinus and Erinaceus are determined by the results of this study.