General aviation pilot reported striking an animal on landing rollout during night conditions on the nose gear and right propeller. The pilot determined no damage to the propeller blades then flew to a maintenance base where it was determined the propeller hub had significant damage.

Narrative

The evening before this flight; while rolling out after a night landing; I struck a coyote with the nose gear and RH prop. Other than some fur and blood; there was no visible damage to the air frame or prop. After reviewing the maintenance manual info on prop strikes; I determined the airplane was airworthy in the absence of any nicks or bends in the prop blades. I flew one leg to my maintenance shop to have my mechanics confirm that the airplane was airworthy. My mechanic wasn't sure that my prop was tracking correctly; so I agreed to have the prop sent to manufacturer for inspection. Manufacturer found significant damage to the prop hub. My first hand observation while hitting the coyote was that it impacted the nose gear; with some minor fragments hitting the RH prop. Based upon the damage to the prop hub; a bigger chunk hit the prop than I had realized. Studies show that eyewitnesses are unreliable; and I guess my perception that the nose gear took the major impact was wrong. In retrospect; even in the absence of any prop nicks or bends; I should not have been so confident that the prop strike involved only small fragments.