Rare beast

This is a very rare animal and not often seen in an urban environment.

A crepuscular mammal, it is held in high esteem by children for obvious reasons.

Not a true hedgehog, it does not have the sharp, solid spines of a hedgehog but a softer, less defensive set of spikes which are actually hollow.

This led scientists to believe that the closet relative was the Coelacanth fish, the name deriving from the hollow spines.

The word Coelacanth is an adaptation of the Modern Latin Cœlacanthus ("hollow spine"), from the Greek κοῖλ-ος (koilos"hollow" + ἄκανθ-α akantha "spine"
For more information, see here

The Coelacanth has two pairs of ventral fins, leading to the nickname of Old Four Legs. see more in the Scientific American article of the day.

The theory is that the fish crept out of the primeval swamp to develop into the current form of the animal; the fins metamorphosing into legs.

There have been other sightings of this creature, protected under the CITES agreement for endangered species, but never before in Dorset.

For more information please see this fascinating article.