Abstract: The dentition and some cranial characters of Neotetracus, a small, little known member of the subfamily Hylomyinae are described and compared with corresponding parts of Hylomys, another closely related hylomyine erinaceid. The milk-dentition is included in these descriptions. Since the single species of the genus Neotetracus, N. sinensis, was placed by some authors in the genus Hylomys, the comparisons aim at finding out, whether the fusing of the two genera is justified or not. Neohylomys hainanensis, another hylomyine having been placed by some authors in the genus Hylomys, is, despite the scarce material at disposal, included in these comparisons as well. The comparisons yield distinct differences between these three hylomyines in almost each tooth and in some skull features, fully justifying the maintenance of the genera Neotetracus,Neohylomys and Hylomys. The differences found are also used to assess the evolutionary level of the three forms with respect to each other. The Hylomyinae are living today in a relatively small area in Southeast Asia and are represented by five genera with a total of six species. In the past, especially during the Middle and Late Miocene, this subfamily was spread over almost the whole northern hemisphere: from Asia to Europe and North Africa, and to North America. The Hylomyinae were also much more diverse than today, so far 9 fossil genera with 47 species having been described. Therefore it is justified to speak of the Hylomyinae as relict forms. To emphasize the shrinking of the distribution area of the Hylomyinae, the reasons for which are not yet understood, an abridged history of the subfamily is given.

摘要： 鼩猬属Neotetracus是毛猬亚科Hylomyinae中一个个体小、对其知之甚少的成员。本文对其齿系(包括乳齿)和颅骨的特征进行了描述，并与毛猬属Hylomys及毛猬类其他近亲的齿系和颅骨形态进行了相应比较。由于现生的鼩猬属为一单型属，其惟一的种Neotetracus sinensis被一些研究者归入毛猬属，本文之所以进行这样的比较，目的是为了弄清楚这种归并是否合理。Neohylomys hainanensis是毛猬类的另一属种，亦有学者将其归入Hylomys属。尽管这一属种的材料不多，在此同样作了比较研究。比较表明，毛猬亚科上述三属间在齿列上的几乎每一颗牙齿和某些头骨形态上都有明显的差别，研究的结果为保留Neotetracus, Neohylomys和Hylomys属的独立存在提供了证据，并根据这三个属在形态上的差异对其相互间的进化水平进行了评估。现代的毛猬亚科动物生活在亚洲东南部一个相对小的地区，总共有5属6种。地史上，特别是在中、晚中新世期间，这一亚科几乎散布整个北半球，从亚洲到欧洲和北非，从旧大陆到新大陆都有其踪迹。那时的种类也比现在的多，迄今描述的化石已有9属47种。因此，有理由认为毛猬亚科是一类孑遗动物。毛猬亚科分布地区缩小的原因还不清楚，为了探讨和认识这一有意思的课题，本文对其历史和分布做了简要的阐述。