CHAPTER II.

GOLDEN MOLES--MOLES--DESMANS--SHREWS.

General Description of the Golden Mole Family--Their Points of difference from the True Mole--THE CAPE GOLDEN MOLE--Its Varieties--The Family of True Moles--THE COMMON MOLE--Described--Distribution--Teeth--Fore-limbs--Breast-bone--Not a Miserable Creature--Extreme Voracity--Diet--His Blindness a Popular Error--A Thirsty Soul--His Fortress--The Roads leading to it--Speed of a Frightened Mole--“Mole-hills”--A-wooing--His Strong Family Affections--His Persecution a Doubtful Benefit--THE BLIND MOLE--Several Allied Species--THE STAR-NOSED MOLE--Its Snout--THE COMMON SHREW MOLE--Other Species in the United States--The Family of Desmans--THE DESMAN--Its Otter-like Habits--Its Trunk--THE PYRENEAN DESMAN--THE HAIRY-TAILED MOLE-SHREW--The Family of Shrews--THE COMMON SHREW--Or Shrew-Mouse--Superstitions about it--DEKAY’S SHREW--THE GARDEN SHREW--THE TUSCAN SHREW--THE RAT-TAILED SHREW--THE WATER SHREW--Essentially Aquatic--Its Prey--Allied Species--THE TIBETAN WATER SHREW--THE TAILLESS SHREW--Concluding Remarks--Classification--Distribution--Affinities.

FAMILY VII.--CHRYSOCHLORIDÆ, OR GOLDEN MOLES.

A few species of Insectivora, which, in their general form and habits more or less resemble our Common Moles, but differ from them in several important points of structure, form the family of the Chrysochloridæ, or Golden Moles. They are peculiar to the southern and eastern parts of Africa, ranging from the Cape to the Mozambique Coast.

These animals have a cylindrical body, clothed with a fine, close fur, usually exhibiting a metallic lustre which has been compared to that presented by the feathers of some of the most brilliant birds. They have a conical head, short limbs, a very short, almost rudimentary tail, minute eyes, actually covered by the skin, and no external ears. From the form of the body, the texture of the hair, and the structure of the limbs, they are as evidently organised for burrowing underground as the Moles, with which they have generally been associated; but the structure of the mechanism by which their burrowing is effected is so different that, taken in conjunction with certain other characters, it has led modern zoologists to regard the Golden Moles, notwithstanding their scanty numbers, as constituting a perfectly distinct family of the Insectivora.

The skull is shorter, more wedge-shaped, and more elevated at the back than in the true Moles, and the premaxillary bones form a process which is curiously turned outwards (see figure, p. 365), but this does not run to the extremity of the snout, which is supported by cartilages. The dentition is very peculiar. The total number of teeth is either thirty-six or forty, one species having two molars less in each jaw than the others; the front upper pair are large and pyramidal in form, presenting some resemblance to the corresponding teeth in the Desmans; these are followed on each side by three minute teeth, and these again by five or six true molars, of prismatic form. In the lower jaw there are two pairs of front teeth, followed on each side by three small pointed teeth (premolars), and by four or five true molars.

The structure of the anterior limb, and of the parts which support it, is peculiar and characteristic, differing materially from that which obtains in the true Moles. In the sternum there are seven similar pieces, which receive the extremities of ribs, and behind these a semi-cartilaginous piece, called the ensiform (or sword-like) appendage. In front of the rib-receiving pieces is a large bone (the _manubrium_), excavated on each side behind to receive the ends of the collar-bones, and furnished along its lower surface with a ridge serving for the attachment of a part of the powerful muscles by which the fore limbs are moved. The form of this part is very different from that of the corresponding piece in the Mole (see p. 368). The form and mode of articulation of the collar-bones (clavicles) is also very different. In the True Moles the clavicle is a short, thick bone, almost resembling the vertebra of a fish; in the Golden Moles it is a longer and more slender bone, of ordinary form, and articulated after an ordinary fashion, both with the sternum and the shoulder-blade. The latter bone is larger than in the Mole, and has a very strong spine, which projects far beyond the articulation of the humerus (arm-bone). The humerus itself is a more slender bone than in the Mole, and more of the ordinary form, although it has a very strong tuberosity near the lower extremity; and one of the carpal bones (the pisiform) is most unusually developed, passing up alongside of the bones of the fore-arm (radius and ulna), until it reaches the humerus. The fore foot is quite different in its construction from that of the Mole. The latter consists of five toes, armed with large flat claws, and forms a shovel-like organ, turned outwards in a peculiar manner. The fore foot of the Golden Mole has only four digits, of which the inner and outer ones (I. and IV. in figure) are small, while the second and third toes (II. and III.) are large and armed with very large claws; the claw-joint of the third, especially, being of enormous size, and cleft nearly to its base. With this powerful instrument the Golden Mole digs his way very readily through the ground, using his hind feet, which have five toes, and much resemble those of ordinary Moles, to push him forward in his burrows.

THE CAPE GOLDEN MOLE.[272]

The Cape Golden Mole is about the size of our Common Mole, or a little more than five inches in length. The colour of its fur is brown, but according as the light falls upon it it shows brilliant golden and iridescent green and purple reflections; a patch round the eye and a streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth are yellowish-brown; and the throat has a greenish tinge. The claws are of a light brown colour.

The Golden Mole inhabits the Cape of Good Hope and Caffraria, where it feeds, like our British Mole, upon insects and worms, which it captures by burrowing through the ground. In the settled districts it is as much disliked as the Mole in Europe, on account of the damage which it does in fields and gardens by its subterranean activity. Several South African forms, nearly related to the above, but differing more or less in the colour and texture of the hair, have been described as distinct species by various zoologists; but these are now regarded as mere varieties of _Chrysochloris capensis_, which has also received the names of _aurea_ and _inaurata_. Besides these, Dr. Günther has described a species from Caffraria, under the name of _C. Trevelyani_, which has the fur brownish and not lustrous, and also presents some minor differences of structure. The Blunt-nosed Golden Mole (_C. obtusirostris_) of Professor Peters, from Mozambique and Caffraria, which has a lustrous coat, has one molar less on each side in each jaw, so that the whole number of teeth is only thirty-six, and hence, and from some peculiarities in the structure of the lower molars, and the absence of a bladder-like enlargement in the temporal fossa, which occurs in the other species, Professor Mivart has placed it in a distinct genus, under the name of _Chalcochloris_.

FAMILY VIII.--TALPIDÆ, OR MOLES.

The True Moles constitute a very distinct family of Insectivora, characterised more especially by their complete organisation for a subterranean life. They have a more or less cylindrical body, with short limbs, of which the front pair are converted into most powerful digging organs, the construction of which will be noticed in the description of our common British species. The head is small, with the muzzle produced and generally pointed, and the eyes and ears concealed, the former being generally almost covered by a membrane; the skull is elongated, rather flat, with a distinct, thin zygomatic arch; the bones of the shank (_tibia_ and _fibula_) are united; the wrist has a sickle-shaped bone on the inside, which passes to and helps to support the first digit; and the intestine has no cæcum. The teeth vary somewhat in number.

The Moles usually form a subterranean dwelling which exhibits considerable ingenuity in its construction, and live upon worms, the larvæ of insects, and other small animals which they capture whilst making their way beneath the surface of the ground. They inhabit the northern half of both hemispheres, not a single species being known to occur south of the Equator. The best known species, whose history may serve as a type of that of the family, is

THE COMMON MOLE.[273]

The Common Mole of Great Britain, although an animal not very often seen, is yet so well known as regards its general appearance that we need hardly describe it. It has a plump, nearly cylindrical body, with very short limbs, a short tail, and a long, pointed muzzle. The eyes are so minute as to escape observation; the external ears are wanting; the body is covered with a velvet-like coat of hairs of a black or blackish-brown colour, with more or less of a whitish tinge in certain lights; and the feet, which are naked, are flesh-coloured. The total length of the animal is usually about six inches, of which not more than half an inch is made up by the tail.

The Common Mole occurs not only in the British Islands, but across the whole of the central and southern parts of the continent of Europe, extending northwards as far as the southern shore of the Baltic and throughout Denmark, thus justifying Shakspere’s allusion to it in “Hamlet.” It also stretches across Central Asia to the confines of China, and according to some writers extends through Persia into India. It is subject to much variation, which may be due to differences of soil or climate. Thus Mr. Bell records Moles “of a deep black colour, of a mouse-grey, dark olive-brown, pied, yellowish-white, and wholly or partially orange;” and mentions specimens from Berne “of the usual dark-colour, but having a well-defined lozenge-shaped patch of orange on the breast.”

The Common Mole is the type of the restricted genus _Talpa_, the species of which are entirely confined to Europe and Asia. In these animals the elongated muzzle projects considerably beyond the opening of the mouth, and contains a pair of long tubular nostrils; it is supported by cartilage, and further strengthened by a small bone at the extreme tip. The teeth with which the jaws are armed are of formidable character, and plainly indicate the predaceous habits of the animal. There are always three true molars on each side in each jaw, and these are armed with several strong points united by ridges, but the number of the other teeth is slightly variable (the total number of teeth ranging between forty and forty-four), and even the determination of their precise nature is somewhat obscure. The dentition of the Common Mole (see figure) is now, however, generally regarded as follows: In the upper jaw, on each side, three incisors, one large canine provided with two roots, and four premolars, of which the hindmost is of large size; in the lower jaw, on each side, four incisor-like teeth, the hindmost of which is probably a canine, and four premolars, the foremost of which is very like a canine. The variation in number is caused by the absence of some of the premolars and incisors of the lower jaw.

The structure of the fore-limbs, and the bones supporting them, in the Mole and its allies, is not only to be regarded as their most distinctive character, but also as furnishing a most striking example of the adaptation of means to ends. The Moles are condemned to live almost constantly underground, and their very existence depends on the facility with which they can make their way through the earth. The fore-feet, by means of which they dig, are accordingly converted into strong, broad, shovel-like organs, armed with broad, flat claws. The five toes of which these feet are composed consist each of two short joints and a long one, the latter making nearly half the length of the organ; and these long joints, which support the claws, are cleft at the tip and grooved underneath to receive an internal process of the nail, which serves to add to its strength and firmness. The bones of the wrist are short and firmly packed together, and from the scaphoid bone springs a long curved falciform bone (_f_ in figure), which runs from the wrist to the first toe, which it helps materially to stiffen and support. The arm which supports this powerful hand is also of peculiar construction. In the forearm (_a_) the radius and ulna are distinct, but the acromion (or elbow) process of the latter is very long, and widened at the extremity, giving great power to the action of the limb. The humerus (_b_) is quite different from anything to be met with elsewhere in the Mammalia, being a short and very stout bone, rendered most irregular in its outline by the development of great crests and processes. It not only articulates with the shoulder-blade, but has a separate surface for the reception of the extremity of the collar-bone (_c_), which is a short bone resembling the vertebra of a fish. The shoulder-blade (_d_) is long and narrow, but stout and triangular in its form.

The sternum, or breast-bone, upon which all these parts rest, is scarcely less singular in its structure (see figure). The body of the sternum consists of four short pieces, which receive the ends of the ribs. Behind these is a slender ensiform process (_e_), and in front of them a manubrium (_m_), or presternum, of peculiar form, and quite as long as the whole middle part of the sternum. This part is widened in part of its length, receives a single pair of ribs in its hinder division, has a strong keel for the attachment of the pectoral muscles along its lower surface, and is much thickened at its front extremity, to the sides of which the collar-bones (_c_) are articulated. By this arrangement the whole fore-limb is thrown forward close to the head, and placed in the most favourable position for facilitating the burrowing operations of the animal, which are effected by bringing forward the fore-feet to the level of the nose, and then separating them and pushing backward, with an action that might almost be styled _swimming_ through the ground. The hind feet, which are much smaller than those just described, are perfectly plantigrade in their structure. They also contain five toes, armed with small sharp claws, and are used only for the purpose of progression.

When we consider the structure of the Mole, and its perfect adaptation to its mode of life, we may agree with Mr. Bell in the belief that although superficial observers may regard it as a miserable creature, such a notion is an absolute mistake. It is true that the Mole, like so many of our own race, is condemned to almost perpetual exertion; but in the case of human beings we find that physical exertion at any rate is of itself so little of an absolute evil that many of our favourite amusements involve no small amount of it, and moral writers are rather fond of dwelling on the pleasure of earning one’s dinner before eating it. Now this is no more than our friend the Mole has to do, so that he can hardly be looked upon as an object either of pity or contempt; and in fact, in his own quiet way, he probably manages to enjoy his life as much as his neighbours. In going about in his subterranean galleries the Mole is constantly engaged in looking out for suitable food, a very large supply of which is necessary for his comfortable existence. M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire says that the appetite of hunger in the Mole is a sort of frenzy, the animal when in view of its prey becoming violently agitated, and throwing itself on its victim as if maddened with rage. Vegetable substances constitute no part of its diet, although it is said sometimes to gnaw the roots of plants in search of the insects and larvæ which feed upon them. Its favourite food consists of earthworms, in pursuit of which it sometimes comes to the surface so eagerly as to throw itself out of its burrow. It is in search of these animals, and especially of the larvæ of various insects which feed upon the roots of grasses and other plants, that the Mole makes its most superficial galleries.

The Mole appears not to be particular in its tastes in the matter of food, and will readily make a meal upon animals much larger and higher in the scale of organisation than those above mentioned, should they happen to come in its way. Mice, small birds, Lizards, and Frogs, if placed within its reach, it will seize and hold with the ferocity and tenacity of a thoroughbred Bull-dog, and even weaker individuals of its own species are killed and devoured. According to M. Geoffroy, in attacking birds it makes use of a good deal of stratagem to get unobserved within reach of its prey, and then by a sudden and violent attack seizes the bird by the belly, tears it open with its powerful claws, and thrusts its muzzle among the unfortunate creature’s entrails, with every appearance of intense enjoyment. M. Flourens gives a similar account of its proceedings. Professor Lenz also describes the voracity of the Mole, and its determined mode of destroying larger animals than one would suppose it capable of managing. A Mole in his possession destroyed and devoured, in the course of twenty-four hours, a large Slowworm, a large Snail, two Chrysalids, and a Snake about thirty-two inches long. Of the reptiles he left nothing but the skin and the bones.

It is probably by the sense of smell chiefly that the Mole is guided in its search for prey. Brehm found that when he had got a Mole buried in some earth in a box, and placed a few fragments of chopped meat on the surface, in a few minutes the earth rose, the muzzle of the Mole appeared, and the meat was devoured. The sense of sight is perhaps in general of little use to the animal; but there are times in its life when to see is an advantage; and time-honoured as the belief may be, there is no doubt that the supposition that the Mole is blind is merely a popular error. It has indeed long been known to naturalists not only that the Mole had eyes, but that these were sufficiently open to enable him to see, and at one time considerable obloquy was heaped upon the memory of Aristotle for having given origin to a statement to the contrary. It would appear, however, that Aristotle’s statement was approximately correct with respect to the southern European species upon which his observations were probably made, and the error was that of those naturalists who applied the assertions of the Greek philosopher to a different animal.

Like other great gormandisers, the Mole is an exceedingly thirsty creature. “Where a colony of Moles exists,” says Mr. Bell, “a run is always made towards the nearest ditch or pond;” and the same writer states, on the authority of Mr. Jackson, an intelligent Mole-catcher, that where water cannot conveniently be reached, “the animal sinks deep, perpendicular shafts, at the bottom of which water is always found, to which the Mole has easy access. Sometimes, also according to the observations of Mr. Jackson, these wells are full to the brim.” These statements are confirmed by a German Mole-catcher, cited by Brehm.

We have already seen that the essential conditions of the Mole’s life consist in continual burrowing. Hence, not unnaturally, the animal shows a marked preference for light soils, and through these he makes his way with remarkable ease and rapidity. Oken says of a Mole, which he kept for six months, that when put into a box of sand, it would make its way through the sand almost as quickly as a fish through the water. In its natural mode of life, however, it by no means confines itself to such vagarious proceedings, but constructs a most complex habitation, which is formed with wonderful art.

Each Mole has his own encampment, frequently entirely separate from those of his fellows, but sometimes the animals evince a rather more sociable disposition, and condescend to make use of a common passage. But in his encampment, each Mole always has his own dwelling, which has been, not inappropriately, styled his fortress, and this certainly displays great ingenuity and skill in its design and construction (see figure). It is formed under a hillock of earth, in a situation which affords some protection to the little domicile. Its roof is a firm dome, the earth composing it being pressed into a solid mass by the Mole while excavating the internal passages and chambers. Beneath this there are two circular galleries, one above the other, the lower one considerably larger than the upper, with which it communicates by five nearly equi-distant passages, running slantingly upwards. Within the lower circular gallery is situated the actual dwelling-place or chamber, to which access is obtained by three passages descending from the upper gallery, so that when within his house the Mole has to go both up and down stairs to reach his bedroom. But the chamber has another issue by a passage which at first descends for a short distance, and then rises again to lead into the high road running to and from the fortress, which is always single; and, on the other hand, the lower and larger gallery gives off about nine other passages, which either terminate at a short distance from the fortress, or, after making a detour, return into the high road. So cautious is the Mole, that the apertures of these passages are said seldom to be made opposite to those which lead from the lower to the upper circular gallery. With these arrangements it must be confessed that the Mole has provided admirably for being “not at home” to unwelcome visitors.

The same caution that prompts the Mole to the formation of so complicated a castle leads him to take equal care in the construction of the road leading into it. This usually runs in a direct line from one end of the animal’s camping-ground to the other, and forms a highway by which he can go quickly about his business. It is large enough to enable him to pass through it easily, but in making it he is careful not to throw out the earth as he does in his ordinary runs, and the whole passage appears to be chiefly formed by compression of the earth by the little engineer. By his constant passing to and fro, its walls become singularly smooth and compact. Occasionally a Mole will form two or more high roads leading from his fortress, probably when supplies fall short and it is necessary to open up new ground; and sometimes several Moles share the same highway, perhaps in localities where worms and grubs are peculiarly fat and abundant. But in the latter case, as there is not room in the little tunnel for one Mole to pass another, if two of them meet by accident one must give way or retire into a side alley, otherwise a violent combat ensues, when the weaker is ruthlessly killed and devoured. The road varies in its depth from the surface according to the nature of the soil and other circumstances; in safe localities it is usually at a depth of four or five inches.

It is through this well-beaten path that the Mole goes out to his hunting-grounds, and by it also that he is obliged to return. The Mole-catchers are well aware of this peculiarity in the habits of the animal, and one of their most successful devices for its capture consists in placing traps in the course of the high road at a time when the Mole is sure to be out on a foraging expedition, so as to intercept him on his way home. The rapidity of its motion along the high road, especially when alarmed, was demonstrated by an amusing experiment shown to M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire by M. Le Court. The latter, having ascertained the direction of a Mole’s road, and found that the animal was hunting at its furthest extremity, placed all along the line at certain distances pieces of straw, passing one end of each into the little tunnel, and attaching little paper flags to the other. He then inserted a horn close to the extremity of the tunnel, and, blowing into it, produced a frightful noise, upon hearing which the Mole naturally made the best of his way home to his fortress, indicating his progress by throwing off the little flags as he passed the successive straws. It was estimated that the speed of the frightened animal was equal to that of a Horse at full trot.

The extreme voracity of the Mole has already been mentioned, but it may be urged in his excuse that the hard labour he has to perform renders a considerable amount of good nourishment absolutely essential to him. Mr. Bell says that his activity in search of food is principally in the morning and evening, and that he sleeps the greater part of the day. In seeking his food, the course adopted by him in making his highway would not answer: he must now dig through the ground to see what it contains, and in doing this he is of course embarrassed by the loose stuff that he dislodges. To get rid of this he makes his way to the surface from time to time, breaks through, and pushes the troublesome rubbish out with his nose, producing those well-known “Mole-hills” of loose earth which so commonly betray his progress in our fields and meadows. The depth at which the Mole works in his hunting-grounds depends very much upon circumstances. In light and newly-worked soils, after rain, when the earthworms especially come to the surface, the Mole will travel along in a sort of shallow trench in pursuit of his prey. In winter we have the reverse of this picture, for then the Moles are compelled to go far down in pursuit of the worms, which have been driven from the surface by the frost.

It must not be supposed, however, that eating and sleeping make up the whole life-history of the Mole. Very early in the year a time comes when he feels strange emotions stirring within him, and then he goes off gallantly, in his velvet coat, in search of a partner in his lonely encampment. That he will not be allowed to bring home his bride without many an appeal to his weapons is almost a matter of necessity, for by some singular dispensation the number of male Moles is very much greater than that of the opposite sex, a disproportion which, as might be expected, gives rise to a good deal of jealousy and its natural consequences among such fierce and untamed spirits. As the male goes on his wooing he makes numerous but very shallow tracks in all directions. These have received the elegant name of _traces d’amour_ from the French naturalists. The lady having been found, the next business is to secure possession of her, and this is attended with considerable difficulties, both from the impertinent intrusion of other males, and from a tendency on the part of the lady herself to run away from the proffered happiness. The intending bridegroom must have rather a hard time of it. But at length the bride’s coyness and the assiduities of rivals are got rid of, and the pair settle down to inhabit for a time the same encampment, and to bring up their little family. It would appear that the affection of the male for his mate continues to be of a very warm kind, at least M. Le Court states that he several times found a female caught in a trap with the male lying dead beside her. The possession of strong family affections by the Mole would seem further to be proved by an observation communicated to M. Le Court, according to which, when the Mole’s nest is invaded by a sudden flood, both parents may be seen struggling bravely, and risking their own lives to save their young, and mutually assisting and protecting each other while thus engaged.

The period of gestation in the Mole does not appear to be very accurately known, but it is supposed to be about two months. The young are brought forth earlier or later, according to the season, but most commonly in April. There are generally four or five, but sometimes only three, and occasionally six or even seven in a litter. They are produced in a nest lined with grass, fine roots, dried leaves, and similar materials collected in a sort of chamber, which is formed by the enlargement of the point of junction of three or four of the ordinary passages, always separate from the fortress, and often at a considerable distance from it. Only a single brood is produced in the year.

We have devoted so much space to the natural history of the Mole because, whilst it is really the most interesting, from this point of view, of all our British Mammals, there is no other which is exposed to such constant and severe persecution. In all parts of the country we find professional Mole-catchers, who make it their business to ascertain the habits of the animals, and taking advantage of this knowledge, capture them in great numbers. We shall not attempt to describe the various contrivances used to effect these massacres. It will suffice to state that the principle on which most of them are worked is the insertion into the ascertained run of the Mole of a trap of some kind, which catches him as he is passing. The grounds upon which this war of extermination is waged against the Mole are chiefly the mischiefs which it causes by means of its runs and burrows in fields and pastures; but it may be questioned whether the Mole does not more than compensate for any damage thus produced by the destruction of many insects and other noxious animals.

THE BLIND MOLE.[274]

We have already mentioned a southern European species which may have given origin to Aristotle’s statements as to the blindness of the Mole. This is an inhabitant of Italy, Dalmatia, and Greece, and is said to occur rarely in the south of France, in Switzerland, and in some other parts of Europe. It closely resembles the common species, but has the eyes covered by a membrane pierced only by a minute hole, so that the animal’s sole visual consciousness must be limited to a mere perception of light. Its fur is of a deep greyish-black colour; and it differs chiefly from the common European Mole in having the middle upper incisor teeth larger than the rest. In its general habits the Blind Mole agrees with our British species, but it is said to make its runs less extensive and nearer to the surface. Its nest also is said to be made in the chamber within the fortress.

Besides these, several nearly allied species of True Moles are found in northern India, chiefly among the hills, such as the Short-tailed Mole (_Talpa micrura_), in which the tail is exceedingly short, the Long-tailed Mole (_T. macrura_), and the White-tailed Mole (_T. leucura_). The first-named species inhabits Nepaul and Darjeling, and at the latter place, according to Mr. Jerdon, it is not uncommon, and many of the roads and pathways are intersected by its runs, which often proceed from the base of one great oak-tree to that of another. If the runs are broken into they are generally repaired during the night, and no Mole-hills are thrown up like those of the European Mole. The White-tailed Mole differs from the other species in having only three premolars on each side in each jaw, making forty teeth in all. Upon this ground Mr. Gill establishes the genus _Parascaptor_ for it.

Still further east, in Japan, we find the Woogura Mole (_Talpa woogura_), which resembles the European Mole in general form and habits, but has the fur of a dingy tawny colour, and the nose unusually produced. In this species there are two incisors less in the lower jaw than in _T. europæa_, and M. Pomel forms for it the genus _Mogera_.

The Abbé Armand David, during his travels in Chinese Mongolia, discovered a Mole closely resembling the European species in its general appearance and characters, which has been called the Musky Mole (_Scaptochirus moschatus_). It was found, however, to possess one premolar less on each side in each jaw than the True Moles (_Talpa_); and from certain peculiarities in the form of the teeth M. Milne-Edwards infers that the animal is less exclusively insectivorous than the Common Mole. It is remarkable for the strong musky odour which it diffuses. The Musky Mole has fur even softer than that of the European Mole, of a bright greyish-brown colour with a tawny tinge, and presenting a brilliant lustre. The muzzle is shorter than in the European Mole, and no trace either of ears or eyes can be detected externally. The tail is nearly naked, but almost concealed in the hairs of the body. Nothing seems to have been ascertained about the habits of this animal.

The Scaptonyx (_Scaptonyx fusicaudatus_) is another of the curious Eastern forms which so remarkably unite to each other different types of these small Mammals. In its external characters it resembles _Urotrichus_, but it has the dentition of the genus _Talpa_, and the nostrils are not elongated into a proboscis. Its length is about two inches and a half, and the length of its tail about one inch and two-fifths. The fur is thick and soft, and the hairs are blue-black at the base, with a brownish tint towards the tip. The single specimen described was obtained on the borders of Kokonoor and Setchouan, but nothing is recorded of its habits.

THE STAR-NOSED MOLE.[275]

Besides the Eastern forms to which we have just referred, there are a few American species of this family, which differ rather more decidedly from the ordinary Moles. Perhaps the most remarkable of them is the Star-nosed Mole, an inhabitant of Canada and the United States, extending from South Carolina to Hudson’s Bay, and stretching right across the continent, from ocean to ocean.

The most striking characteristic of this animal, which constitutes the genus _Condylura_, is the presence at the extremity of its elongated nose of a sort of fringe of about twenty long fleshy processes, forming a regular star, having the nostrils towards its centre. The names _Rhinaster_ and _Astromycter_, both meaning “Star-nose,” have been given to the genus by different writers. The name _Condylura_ is founded on a mistake, the tail having been supposed to have a knob or knot. The tail is nearly as long as the body, the general appearance of which is mole-like, but the shoulders are stouter and heavier in proportion to the hind-quarters than in our Common Mole, although the digging hands are hardly so powerful. The last phalanges of the fingers are not cleft, as in the Mole. The skull is elongated, and the jaws contain in all forty-four teeth--namely, besides canines, three incisors, four premolars, and three true molars on each side in each jaw. The arrangement of the teeth in the long jaws is rather peculiar. In the upper jaw the two middle and the two outer incisors are of large size, and the latter are quite like canines; between them is a third minute tooth on each side. The true canine is very small; the first three premolars are thin and sharp, and the fourth much larger than the rest. In the lower jaw we find four projecting incisors, and behind the outer ones on each side a much smaller one, followed at an interval by a small canine with two roots. The eyes are very minute, and there are no external ears.

This curious little animal, which measures about five inches in length, and has a tail about three inches long, is of a brownish-black colour, a little paler beneath, but appearing in certain lights perfectly black throughout. The naked, or nearly naked parts, such as the nose, with its singular appendages, and the feet, are generally of a flesh-colour, the tips of the fringes and of the claws being, in fact, quite rosy. The tail is well covered with hair.

The Star-nosed Mole, like the other members of its family, lives beneath the surface of the ground, where it is able to burrow rapidly in soft earth. It prefers the vicinity of brooks or swampy places. The galleries do not run so near the surface as those of the Common Shrew Mole of America. The nest is composed of dried grass, and placed in an excavation made under some protective object, such as a stump or the root of a tree. The young show scarcely any trace of the nasal appendages. The precise use of these curious organs in the adult does not seem to be ascertained; probably they aid as sensory organs in the discovery of the worms and larvæ of insects on which the creature feeds.

THE COMMON SHREW MOLE.[276]

The Shrew Mole, which is often called simply the Mole in the United States, is another very widely-distributed species in North America, throughout the whole eastern part of which it is found abundantly. Like the other species of its genus, which inhabit the territories farther west, the Common Shrew Mole has an elongated, slender snout, which is cut off obliquely at the end, so that the nostrils, which are situated in this sloping surface, are turned forwards and upwards, and are not visible from below; a short and nearly naked tail; and only thirty-six teeth, which present the following characters:--In the upper jaw there are on each side three incisors, of which the foremost is very large and pyramidal, whilst the other two are very small; then four compressed teeth, gradually increasing in size, of which the first may be regarded as a canine and the rest as premolars; and beyond these three large, true molars, each having the crown furnished with strong cusps, and distinctly divided into two parts. The lower jaw has only four instead of six incisors, and these are nearly horizontal, and the two inner ones are much smaller than the outer; these are followed immediately by three simple, gradually increasing teeth, regarded as premolars; and these again by three large true molars. According to this interpretation there are no lower canines. The feet are like those of the Mole, but the toes of the hind feet are webbed.

Two other species of _Scalops_ are found in the western parts of the United States. One of them, the Prairie Mole, or the Silvery Shrew Mole (_S. argentatus_), which is about seven inches long, and has the hairs annulated with white and lead colour, giving it a silvery appearance, inhabits the western prairies, advancing as far to the eastward as Ohio and Michigan; the other, the Texan Shrew Mole (_S. latimanus_), which is still larger, and has the fore feet broader than in any other species, and the black hair longer, thinner, and slightly crisped, is a native of Mexico and Texas.

Two other Shrew Moles have been formed into a distinct genus (_Scapanus_) by M. Pomel. They resemble the preceding in general characters, but agree with the Star-nosed Mole in having forty-four teeth. These are Brewer’s Shrew Mole (_Scapanus Brewerii_), a black species, about six inches long, which inhabits the eastern United States, and is supposed to have given the foundation for the reports of the existence of the Common Mole in North America; and the Oregon Mole (_Scapanus Townsendii_), a considerably larger species, which is said to extend all along the Pacific coast, from California to 47° 10′ N. lat. In their habits these animals seem to agree closely with the Star-nosed Mole. The western species occurs abundantly in the banks of rivers.

FAMILY IX.--MYOGALIDÆ.--THE DESMANS.

Some very curious and interesting animals, placed with the Shrews by some zoologists, and with the Moles by others, may, perhaps, for our purpose, be best placed as a distinct family. The Desmans are, in fact, Shrew-like animals, with some important points of resemblance to the Moles. Thus, the teeth in the true Desmans are forty-four in number, and the large upper front incisor is pyramidal, and rather resembles that of some Moles than that of the Shrews; the general character of the skull is Mole-like, especially the presence of a slender zygomatic arch, which does not exist in the Shrews; the shoulder-blade is long, narrow, and strong, the collar-bone short and stout, and the front portion of the sternum is slightly keeled. Many other slight osteological peculiarities point to an alliance with the Moles; but on the other hand, Shrew-like characters are not wanting, and the general structure of the body and limbs is that of the Shrews, the tail being well developed, and the limbs all formed for walking. In the true Desmans the hind limbs are considerably larger than the fore-limbs, and all the feet are palmated, or have their toes united by webs.

THE DESMAN.[277]

The Desman in general form resembles a big Rat, but with a long snout formed by the nostrils, which are produced in a tubular form, and united in the middle, producing a regular trunk, provided with muscles which enable it to be turned in various directions, and employed as an organ of touch. The tail is compressed, scaly, and nearly naked.

In the arrangement of the teeth we see a considerable resemblance to the Shrew Moles. Thus, in the upper jaw we have the same gigantic front incisors, larger here than in any other species, and these are followed on each side by a series of seven teeth, gradually increasing in size, the first of which is an incisor, the second a canine, and the remaining five premolars. In the lower jaw, there are four projecting incisors, the outer much larger than the inner ones, as in the Shrew Moles, then, on each side we have six gradually enlarging teeth, a canine, and five premolars. The true molars are three in number on each side in both jaws. They are broad, powerful teeth, with strong acute tubercles, and crowns divided transversely into two parts. The eyes are small, and there are no visible ears.

Another peculiarity of these animals is the presence, under the root of the tail, of a large gland, which secretes a substance of a strong musky odour, whence they are sometimes called Musk Shrews. This gland is composed of from twenty to forty lobes, each having a dilated upper part, and a narrow lower portion, and containing in their walls a great number of small secreting sacs.

The Desman, or Wychuchol of the Russians, is an inhabitant of Southern Russia, where it lives in the banks of streams and pools, in the region between the Don and the Volga. It is also said to occur in some parts of south-western Asia. Its body is about ten inches long, and its tail measures about seven inches and a half. The latter organ is narrowed at the root, and then nearly cylindrical for some distance, and finally compressed from near the middle to the extremity, thus forming a most powerful swimming organ, by means of which, aided by the broad webbed feet, the Desman makes its way through the water with great rapidity. The surface of the tail is scaly, with a scanty sprinkling of short hairs, and with a great number of small follicles, which secrete a greasy material.

The body of the Desman is covered with a dense fur, composed of a thick coat of fine downy hairs next the skin, and of longer smooth hairs, which form the outermost coat. It is reddish-brown on the back, ashy-grey on the belly, and shows a silvery lustre in certain lights. The feet are naked and scaly above, and fringed with hairs at the sides. At the eye, and over the auditory aperture, there are whitish spots.

In its habits the Desman is described as greatly resembling an Otter on a small scale. It lives by preference about standing waters and slow streams, especially when these, as is so commonly the case in Russia, are confined by steep banks of considerable height. In these banks it makes its residence, which is something like that of the Otter, consisting of a passage running obliquely upwards from below the surface of the water, often to a length of twenty feet or more, and then terminating in a sort of fortress-chamber, three or four feet above the water level. But this retreat is only occupied by the animal as a resting place; the greater part of its time, both in summer and winter, being passed in the water. Here it disports itself with an agility of which its rather heavy and clumsy figure would hardly appear to give promise; swimming and diving readily, making its way among the water-plants, and seeking constantly for the animals which constitute its food. These are chiefly leeches, worms, and aquatic mollusca and larvæ of insects, but in all probability no small aquatic animal would come greatly amiss. The curious movable trunk with which the animal is endowed is brought actively into play during the search for provisions. It is turned and twisted in various directions, touching the various objects that come in the way, and is used to feel about for prey, which it is said to seize and convey to the neighbouring mouth after the same fashion as the trunk of an elephant. The animal is said frequently to put its trunk into its mouth, and then to cry like a duck; when irritated or threatened, it hisses, and tries to bite. The Desman is supposed to produce more than one litter in the course of the year. It is pursued for the sake of its skin, which somewhat resembles that of the Beaver and Ondatra in its qualities; and great numbers are taken by means of nets, especially in the autumn. Its flesh is uneatable, on account of its strong musky flavour, which is communicated even to that of the carnivorous fishes, such as the Pike, which, being less nice in their tastes, do not object to an occasional Desman.

THE PYRENEAN DESMAN.[278]

The only other species of Desman is found in the small streams of the Pyrenees both in France and Spain, where it lives after the same fashion as its Russian relative, but is said to feed principally upon trout. It is much smaller than the preceding species, being only ten or eleven inches in total length, nearly one-half of which is occupied by the long tail. The fur is chestnut-brown on the back, greyish-brown on the sides, and silvery grey on the belly; the upper lip bears some pectinated whiskers, the sides of the trunk are covered with white and the fore-feet with brownish hairs; while the hind-feet are naked and scaly. This animal also diffuses a strong musky odour.

THE HAIRY-TAILED MOLE-SHREW.[279]

Besides the true Desmans this group is considered to include two or three singular little creatures which lead directly towards the true Moles. One of these is a Japanese species, discovered by Professor Siebold, and described by Professor Temminck under the name of _Urotrichus talpoides_, which we may call the Hairy-tailed Mole-Shrew. It differs from the Desmans, and agrees with the true Shrews in having only two incisor teeth in the lower jaw. There are thirty-eight teeth in all. It is about the size of the common Water Shrew, with the nose greatly elongated, not into a flexible proboscis, but into a snout with the nostrils placed at the sides of the tip; the tail is about an inch long, stout, scaly, and covered with long hairs, which form a tuft; the fur is brown and velvety, and the snout and feet flesh-coloured, and nearly naked.

This animal is common at elevations of from 1,000 to 1,200 feet in the mountains of the southern and eastern parts of Japan, but becomes more rare towards the north. In its habits it resembles the Moles, digging out galleries in the earth, but going down deeper, and rarely if ever forming heaps of loose earth at the surface.

A nearly allied species, Gibbs’ Mole Shrew (_Urotrichus Gibbsii_), is found in North America.

Another species, leading more towards the Shrews, was discovered in eastern Tibet by the Abbé David, and described by M. A. Milne-Edwards under the name of _Uropsilus soricipes_, or the Shrew-footed Uropsile. The general characters of the animal are very like those of _Urotrichus_, but it has one premolar less on each side in each jaw, making the total number of teeth only thirty-four. The tail is naked and scaly; and the fur is of a slate-colour, with a slight brownish tinge.

FAMILY X.--SORICIDÆ, OR THE SHREWS.

A great number of small mouse-like and rat-like animals, presenting shades of character which render their classification almost insuperably difficult, constitute the family of the Shrews, which, as we have already stated, may be regarded as representing the generalised or central idea of the Insectivorous Mammal. On all sides the other families include anomalous species, and the characters which distinguish these from their immediate fellows generally tend in the direction of the Shrews.

In these creatures we find a mouse-like body, terminated in front by a small head, with a long pointed muzzle, and behind by a nearly naked, scaly tail of variable length. The eyes are small, as also are generally the ears; the limbs are short, and nearly equal in size; the skull is long and narrow, and has on each side of its base a space not filled up with bone; the teeth are from twenty-eight to thirty-two in number, and the middle incisors in both jaws are very large; the skull has no zygomatic arch or tympanic bony bubble; the bones of the shank (tibia and fibula) are united; and the intestine has no cæcum. On the sides of the body or at the root of the tail the Shrews possess peculiar glands, which secrete a fluid of strong odour, serving no doubt to protect them from many enemies.

The Shrews are distributed over all parts of the Old World and in North America. They live generally on the ground, although some take freely to the water, and they feed upon worms, insects, and other small animals such as they can overcome. The difficulty of classifying these animals to which we have already alluded has led to their being divided into an infinity of generic groups, of which we shall endeavour to illustrate those which are now most generally accepted.

THE COMMON SHREW.[280]

The Common Shrew, or Shrew-mouse, as it is often called, may be noticed first, as being the species most likely to be met with by our readers, in England at any rate. It is one of the species for which the Linnæan generic name _Sorex_ has been retained, the group as restricted including Shrews with from thirty to thirty-two teeth, there being four or five premolars in the upper and only two in the lower jaw; with a basal tubercle to the upper inner incisors; with ears of moderate size directed backwards, a long tail, and the feet not fringed with hairs.

Our Common Shrew is a pretty little mouse-like creature (its figure will be seen in Plate 12), measuring about two inches and three-quarters in length, with a tail rather more than an inch and a half long. Its fur is generally of a reddish-grey colour above, and greyish beneath; but the colour varies considerably, being sometimes blackish or chestnut above, and tinged with yellow beneath. The fore teeth are of a rich brown colour. The tail is four-sided,[281] with the angles rounded off, and is nearly of equal thickness throughout; it is covered with short, close, stiffish hairs. Mr. Bell states that the Shrew sometimes occurs spotted with white, and that he possesses one specimen “which is beautifully pied, having a broad white band over the loins, which extends all round the animal.”

The food of the Common Shrew consists chiefly of insects and worms, but it also eats the smaller mollusca, and even the common Slug (_Limax agrestis_), according to Mr. Bell, who says that he has not only found the remains of that animal in its stomach, but has also fed it upon slugs in confinement. Like its ally, the Mole, it is very pugnacious, and two Shrews rarely come together without a battle, when the weaker one is killed and eaten. The breeding season of the Shrew is in the spring, when the female makes a comfortable nest of soft dry herbage in some convenient hole in the ground, and there brings forth from five to seven young ones. Their increase is checked to a certain extent by natural enemies. Thus, the Mole is said to kill and eat them when they come in his way; and Cats, Weasels, Owls, and some other animals, will also kill them; and some at least do not disdain to make a meal upon them. The Barn Owl especially seems to make great havoc among the Shrews.

All sorts of evil qualities were attributed to the Shrew by our ancestors, some of which are still believed in. One old writer says that the Shrew-mouse is “a kind of Field-mouse of the bigness of a Rat and colour of a Weasel, very mischievous to cattel; which, going over a beast’s back, will make it lame in the chine; and the bite of it causes the beast to swell at the heart and die.” The running of a Shrew over the leg of a beast was generally believed to cause the latter great pain, and to produce lameness. The proper cure for these imaginary ills was on a par with the mischief; the remedy was the application to the part affected of a branch or twig of a shrew-ash, which, says Gilbert White, “was made thus: into the body of the tree a deep hole was bored with an auger, and a poor devoted Shrew-mouse was thrust in alive, and plugged in, no doubt with several quaint incantations since forgotten.”

There is one circumstance in the natural history of the Shrew that must have struck everybody, although it is still entirely unexplained. This is the death of great numbers of these animals in autumn without any apparent cause. Residents in the country will know that at that season Shrews may be seen lying dead on almost every footpath; in fact, the observation is so general as to have given rise to another superstition, namely, that a Shrew cannot cross a public path without paying the penalty of death. The individuals thus found dead are of both sexes, and of various ages.

The Common Shrew occurs not only in the British Islands, but also over the whole continent of Europe, from Sweden and Russia to the shores of the Mediterranean.

The Lesser Shrew (_Sorex pygmæus_, whose figure will be seen in Plate 12) is a second British species nearly allied to the preceding, but smaller, measuring rather less than two inches in length, and with a proportionately longer tail. The lower parts of the body are also whiter. It is the smallest of British Mammals.[282]

DEKAY’S SHREW.[283]

Some small species of American Shrews agree with the restricted genus _Sorex_ in the number of teeth, but have no lobe at the base of the upper incisors; the external ear is small, turned forward, and the tail short, usually not longer than the head. These form the genus _Blarina_.

Dekay’s Shrew is about four inches and a half long, and the tail about an inch. Its fur is of a rusty yellow-grey colour above, paler beneath; the nose and feet are reddish-brown, and the front incisors black. From Dr. Bachman’s description it would appear that this animal burrows rather deeply in the ground, after the fashion of the Mole. It is found in the northern United States.

THE GARDEN SHREW.[284]

A very considerable number of Shrews, distributed in all parts of the Old World, and including two or three well-known European species, have been formed into the genus _Crocidura_, which in its turn has been divided again and again by means of characters generally of very slight importance.

The _Crociduræ_ have from twenty-eight to thirty teeth, all white, or with white tips; the lower incisors are not toothed; the teeth between the incisors and the molars in the upper jaw gradually decrease in size; and the tail is covered with short hairs, among which there are a good many longer ones.

The Garden Shrew (_Crocidura aranea_) is a small species, usually measuring a little over four inches in total length, of which the tail occupies about an inch and a third. It has twenty-eight teeth which are all white. The fur is of a mouse-grey colour, shading off into whitish ash on the lower surface; the feet are light ashy, with the toes flesh-coloured, as is also the tip of the snout; and the ears, which are well exposed, are ash-coloured above and whitish below. The fur occasionally has a reddish-brown tinge; and, as in the Common Shrew, specimens spotted with white, and even albinos, sometimes occur. This is a common species almost all over Europe, but does not occur in Sweden or in the British Islands. It lives in woods and plantations, in the fields and in gardens, and in the winter approaches close to the houses, sheltering itself under stones and other objects, and sometimes even entering stables and other outbuildings. Like the other species, it feeds upon insects, worms, and other small animals, and like them also it has the reputation of injuring domestic animals by walking over them.

The Tuscan Shrew (_Crocidura etrusca_) is another well-known European species, but its distribution is much more limited than that of the Garden Shrew. It is found generally in the extreme south of Europe, from France to the Black Sea, and also in the north of Africa, but does not appear to extend north of the Alps. Like the Garden Shrew, it frequents gardens, and not unfrequently comes into houses and outbuildings. In the open country it selects dry and warm situations.

The total length of the Tuscan Shrew is from two inches and a half to two inches and three-quarters, and as the tail is nearly an inch long, the head and body may measure little more than an inch and a half. It is the smallest of living Mammals. The teeth are thirty in number. The colour of the fur is ashy with a reddish tinge above, light ashy beneath; the tail is clothed with short hairs, and with a series of rings of longer white hairs; and the ears are of moderate size, projecting distinctly from the fur. In its habits it agrees with the other species.

THE RAT-TAILED SHREW.[285]

Amongst a number of Indian species, some of which are of doubtful distinctness, we may notice one which seems to be widely distributed in the East, and well known in India and elsewhere, under the name of the Musk Shrew, or Musk Rat. It is usually of a dark brown or even blackish colour above, and much paler beneath, but it varies considerably in this respect, and thus has probably given origin to several so-called species. The ears are of considerable size, and the tail, which is about three-fourths the length of the body, is thickened towards the root--a character of the sub-genus _Pachyura_. The animal is about six inches long. It is a very common Indian species, and frequents houses at night, hunting round the rooms in search of the Cockroaches and other insects which abound there. From time to time it utters a sharp, shrill cry. Its musky odour is exceedingly strong, and is said to impregnate everything that the animal passes over; in fact, the popular belief in India is that in running over a bottle of wine or beer, it is capable of infecting the contents! This, however, is rather more than doubtful. Mr. Jerdon distinguishes two species--an Indian one which he calls _Sorex cœrulescens_, which is usually of a bluish ash colour, and a somewhat smaller species, chiefly inhabiting Further India and China, to which he gives the Linnæan name of _Sorex murinus_. If they are distinct, it is probably to the latter that Mr. Swinhoe refers in his notes on Chinese Mammals under the name the “Musk Rat.” He says that it is found throughout China, Formosa, and Hainan, in houses in large towns, being carried about in junks with the cargo. It has an unpleasant musky odour, and makes a peculiar chattering noise, which sounds like the chinking of money, and, he adds, often disturbed him in his room at night. Such a sound heard in the dark in a strange place would certainly be rather alarming to any one who had money to lose.

The “Musk Rat” of Ceylon is a reddish species, described by Kelaart as _Sorex kandianus_, and by Mr. Jerdon as _S. serpentarius_. It is rather smaller than the preceding, but takes its place in the houses of Ceylon and Southern India, and renders itself equally offensive by its strong musky odour.

Several other Indian species are referred to _Crocidura_, one of which, _C. Perroteti_, is said to be even smaller than the Tuscan Shrew. Others occur in Africa, in Egypt, Mozambique, and Madagascar, and in the neighbourhood of the Cape.

THE WATER SHREW.[286]

Our British Water Shrew is the type of a distinct genus, all the species of which appear to haunt the margins of water. They have thirty teeth, all of which are tipped with brown or red. The upper front teeth are large and curved, and have a basal cusp behind; the lower ones are nearly horizontal, and have a single tubercle and no notch at the tip. Behind these teeth there are on each side in the upper jaw four small teeth, the last of which is very minute; and in the lower jaw two small teeth. The molars are four on each side in the upper, and three in the lower jaw. The snout is pointed, and furnished with very long whiskers; the eyes small; the ears of moderate size, and valvular; and the feet and lower surface of the tail fringed with stiff hairs.

Our Water Shrew (its figure will be seen in Plate 12), which measures about three inches and one-third in length, and has a tail rather more than two inches long, is generally nearly black on the upper surface and white beneath, the colours being usually separated by a distinct line of demarcation. The hairs fringing the feet and the lower surface of the tail are white. There is, however, considerable variation in the colour of different specimens, some of which have been described as distinct species. One especially, in which the whole of the fur is of a black colour, has been called the Oared Shrew (_Sorex ciliatus_ or _remifer_), but the existence of intermediate steps has led to the recognition of the identity of even this with the Common Water Shew. Mr. Bell is of opinion that the differences of coloration depend on the season and the age of the specimen. The tail is slender, four-sided, and compressed towards the tip. The Water Shrew is distributed over the whole continent of Europe, as far north as the shores of the Baltic. It is found in many localities in England and in Scotland, but is not known to occur in Ireland.

The Water Shrew is one of the prettiest of our British Mammals. Its movements, especially in the water, are very agile; and although, from its swimming by alternate strokes of its hind feet, its course is of a somewhat wriggling character, the peculiar mode in which it flattens its body so as to show a narrow white border on each side, and the silvery lustre of the coat of air-bubbles which adheres to its back, give it a very elegant appearance when thus engaged. It is found chiefly about the rivulets of mountainous and hilly countries, generally showing a preference for those quieter parts where the water flows smoothly over a sandy bottom, but it will also make its way through more broken water, in shallow parts full of stones. Clear water seems to be the great desideratum, and if this can be secured the Water Shrew will put up with a lake or pond. It is not, however, absolutely confined to the water-side, but will at times wander about the fields, sheltering itself under haycocks, and other heaps of dried plants, and even making its way into houses, barns, and outbuildings.

Nevertheless, as may be judged from the fringed tail and feet, it is essentially an aquatic animal, and its regular habitation seems to be always constructed in the immediate vicinity of water. Here the Water Shrew burrows into the soft ground of the bank, and forms a subterranean dwelling, usually with several openings, one of which is situated beneath the surface of the water, to give the little creature an opportunity of slipping quietly and unperceived into or out of its house. Its food is principally obtained in the water, and consists of aquatic insects, worms, mollusca, and crustacea, which it snaps up in its rapid fittings to and fro. In Bell’s “British Quadrupeds” the pursuit of the Freshwater Shrimp (_Gammarus pulex_) in a shallow but rapid streamlet by the Water Shrew is described. The little animal was seen busily pushing about among the stones at the bottom of the water, sometimes poking its nose under them, sometimes turning them over in a fashion which might be thought beyond its strength. The result was the same in either case; the Shrew captured some small article of food, with which it made off to the side of the stream, where it was heard crunching the crustaceans between its teeth.

Besides this small prey, the Water Shrew is said by Continental writers to attack almost any small animal that comes in its way--frogs, fishes, and even small birds and quadrupeds are described as among its victims. It is also said to feed on the spawn of fishes, and, according to Brehm’s testimony, will even destroy large fish, such as Carp, by eating out their eyes and brains. Carrion and dead animals will also furnish it with a meal. One of Mr. Bell’s editors gives a striking instance of this. A steel rat-trap had been set, and in the morning contained a large Rat, “on which was perched a small black object, which proved on closer approach to be a Water Shrew. The Rat was dead, and the Shrew was devouring it. Although the slender snout and projecting and comparatively weak teeth of the Shrew were but ill adapted, one would have thought, for devouring prey of the size of a full-grown Rat, yet the animal had succeeded in making a small hole through the skin, and this it was most energetically employed, by means of both teeth and claws, in enlarging. So ferocious were its actions, that it might very properly be said to be _fighting_ the Rat; and so intent was it on its work as to suffer itself to be captured by the observer, who laid the loading-rod of his gun across its back.”

The breeding season begins in April or May, when the courtship of the little creatures commences by a persevering pursuit of his intended partner by the male. The lady exhibits a becoming coyness, leading her suitor a long chase through the water; but while thus engaged both parties keep the main chance in view, and seize everything eatable that comes in their way. The young are brought forth in a chamber in the bank, and are from five to seven or eight in number.

A nearly allied, but larger species, the Himalayan Water Shrew (_Crossopus himalaicus_), occurs in the streams of the Himalayas. Mr. Jerdon, who obtained it from the Little Rungeet River at Darjeling, describes it as five or six inches long, dark brown or blackish above, paler beneath, and with a bunch of hairs at the tip of the tail. It was said to kill small fish, tadpoles, aquatic insects, &c. Another species (_C. platycephalus_) inhabits Japan.

The Marsh Shrew (_Sorex palustris_), of North America, has bean referred to this genus by some authors; but it has a long slender, cylindrical tail, with a pencil of hairs at the tip, and Professor Baird refers it to the genus _Sorex_. The teeth are the same in number as in _Crossopus_, and likewise have their tips reddish-brown. This species inhabits the northern parts of North America up to Hudson’s Bay Territory.

THE TIBETAN WATER SHREW.[287]

This is another of the Mammals for the knowledge of which we are indebted to the Abbé David, and it is one of the most curious species of this family, presenting a combination of characters peculiar to itself with those of the True Shrews and the Desmans. “Its head and skull,” says M. A. Milne-Edwards, “refer this animal to the _Soricidæ_, whilst its palmated feet and compressed tail indicate close affinities with the _Myogalidæ_; but the sucking discs with which the lower surfaces of its feet are furnished belong to itself alone, and nothing of the same kind is to be found in the allied groups.”

In some respects the Tibetan species is allied to the European Water Shrew, but it has only twenty-eight instead of thirty teeth, namely, incisors, (3–3)/(1–1), canines, (1–1)/(1–1), molars, (4–4)/(4–4); the skull is flattened; the body robust, and supported on short limbs; the muzzle short, broad, and conical, with large whiskers at the sides, and the nostrils opening laterally near the extremity; the eyes exceedingly small; and the ears entirely concealed by the hair and quite destitute of a conch. The tail is stout, longer than the body, quadrangular at the base, then triangular, and finally flattened at the sides; and the feet are large and broadly palmated, so as to form vigorous swimming organs, very closely resembling those of the Desmans. As in the latter animals, the feet are fringed with stiff hairs of peculiar construction; but the nails, which in the Desmans are strong, are here small and weak. The sucking discs, already mentioned as peculiar to this animal, are certainly among its most remarkable characteristics. They occur upon the feet of both pairs, and consist of large pads, depressed in the middle to form cups, which are doubtless of service to the animal in its aquatic mode of life.

The Tibetan Water Shrew is rather a large species, measuring, when adult, nearly eight inches in total length, more than half of which, however, is occupied by the tail. It is thus much larger than the British Water Shrew. Its body is covered with hair of two kinds. Close to the skin is a very thick soft down of a slaty grey colour, through which pass numerous longer hairs, which are grey at the base and white at the extremity, causing the animal to vary considerably in appearance, according as these longer hairs are raised or laid flat. The lower parts of the body are white.

In its compressed tail and largely webbed feet this Shrew possesses most admirable instruments for progression in the water; in fact, it must be regarded as the most thoroughly aquatic of all the family of the Shrews. According to its discoverer, it lives habitually on the banks of the impetuous torrents which descend from the mountains of Moupin in Tibet; and notwithstanding the rapidity of these streams, it swims and dives in them with the greatest facility, chasing the small fishes which constitute its principal food. Although not uncommon in its native region, its activity in the water renders its capture exceedingly difficult. In order to procure specimens, it is necessary to divert the course of a stream, and then pursue the animals into the holes in which they take refuge.

THE TAILLESS SHREW.[288]

Another curious little Mammal, brought from Tibet by the Abbé David, is described by M. A. Milne-Edwards as forming a distinct genus, under the name of _Anurosorex_, or the Tailless Shrew. It has only twenty-six teeth in all, namely, incisors, (2–2)/(1–1), canines, (1–1)/(1–1), and molars, (4–4)/(4–4). The tail is remarkably short, scarcely passing beyond the hairs of the body, slender, slightly flattened, of the same thickness throughout, and covered with small scales, from between which project a few very short hairs. The general form of the body is mole-like, the head is large, the muzzle conical, flesh-coloured, having the nostrils on each side near its extremity, and furnished with long whiskers. The eyes are scarcely perceptible, and the ears are entirely concealed beneath the hairs. The feet are short and scaly, whence the name given to the species, and the fore-feet are broader and stronger than the hind-feet, thus furnishing all additional indication of affinity to the Moles.

This species was found abundantly both in the Plains and mountains of Setchouan and Tibet, where it lives in burrows which it digs in the earth. Its total length is little more than four inches, and its fur, which is very silky and thick, is of a grey colour with a greenish brown tinge. The feet are whitish and the nails white.

* * * * *

In the preceding sketch of the Insectivorous order of Mammals, we have followed in general the classification proposed by Professor Mivart, and slightly modified by Mr. Gill. The following summary of the arrangement will be useful for reference:--

SUB-ORDER I.--DERMOPTERA.

Family 1. GALEOPITHECIDÆ.

Genus--Galeopithecus.

SUB-ORDER II.--INSECTIVORA VERA.

Family 2. TUPAIDÆ.

Genera--Tupaia, Ptilocereus, Hylomys.

Family 3. MACROSCELIDÆ.

Genera--Macroscelides, Petrodromus. Rhynchocyon.

Family 4. ERINACEIDÆ.

Genera--Erinaceus, Gymnura.

Family 5. CENTETIDÆ.

Genera--Centetes, Hemicentetes, Ericulus, Echinops, Oryzorictes, Solenodon.

Family 6. POTAMOGALIDÆ.

Genus--Potamogale.

Family 7. CHRYSOCHLORIDÆ.

Genera--Chrysochloris, Chalcochloris.

Family 8. TALPIDÆ.

Genera--Talpa, Parascaptor, Mogera, Scaptochirus, Scaptonyx, Condylura, Scalops, Scapanus.

Family 9. MYOGALIDÆ.

Genera--Myogale, Urotrichus, Uropsilus.

Family 10. SORICIDÆ.

Genera--Sorex, Blarina, Crocidura, Crossopus, Nectogale, Anurosorex.

Only in one respect have we thought it desirable to depart from Professor Mivart’s system, namely, in raising the Desmans (_Myogalidæ_) to the rank of a distinct family. This course was adopted for the sake of simplicity in the classification, as the combination of characters presented by those animals places them so remarkably between the Moles and the Shrews, that from a zoological point of view they cannot satisfactorily be referred to either.

One thing that will strike the reader at once is the great number of family types, for the most part strongly characterised, that can be distinguished in so small an order. Mr. Wallace estimates the total number of species of Insectivora at 135, and of these about 65, or nearly one-half, belong to the single family of the Shrews, leaving about 70 species for all the other families; and of these 34 species, or again nearly one-half, are referred to the two widely distributed groups the Hedgehogs and the Moles.

Considering these facts, and the clear differentiation of most of the forms, notwithstanding the existence of those types already alluded to, which in several of the families seem to lead towards the _Soricidæ_, we can hardly avoid agreeing with Mr. Wallace in regarding the existing Insectivora as “the detached fragments of a much more extensive group of animals, now almost extinct,” a view which is strongly corroborated by the geographical distribution of the animals.

Curiously enough several of the smaller and more peculiar families are limited much in the same way as the Pteropine Bats and Lemurs, chiefly to the countries surrounding the great Indian ocean, beneath which, as we have already stated, the hypothetical continent of Lemuria is very probably submerged. The Galeopithecidæ and Tupaiidæ are almost confined to the Malayan region, and the Centetidæ (with the exception of the anomalous genus _Solenodon_) are peculiar to Madagascar; the Macroscelididæ have their home on the eastern coast of Africa, except a single species which occurs in the northern part of that continent; the Chrysochloridæ are exclusively South African; and the curious _Potamogale_ inhabits some of the West African rivers. Thus, except in the case of _Solenodon_, the whole of these groups are now represented solely within the region inhabited by the Pteropine Bats. Does this point to a “Lemurian” origin, or at any rate to a great former development in the Lemurian land, of the Insectivorous Mammalia?

Of the more widely distributed families, the Erinaceidæ occur chiefly in the northern temperate regions of the Eastern hemisphere, stretching away continuously from Europe and the North African deserts, through Asia Minor and Persia, and across Central Asia to the Pacific Coast, whilst one or two species occur in South Africa, and one very aberrant form, the Bulau (_Gymnura_), is found in the Malayan region, along with the Bangsrings, to which it is allied through the genus _Hylomys_. The true Moles and the Shrews occur in the northern parts of both hemispheres, and the latter family, indeed, is represented in all parts of the world except South America and the Australian region. The Desmans, which stand in so peculiar a position between the Shrews and the Moles, present a curious instance of what has been called “discontinuous distribution,” the two nearly allied species being found only in two localities, separated from each other by the whole breadth of the European continent. The entire absence of Insectivora from the South American continent, and the presence of the Solenodons, which seem to be most nearly related to the Centetidæ of Madagascar, in Cuba and St. Domingo, are further remarkable facts in the geographical distribution of these animals. Scarcely less singular is the distribution of the two species of _Urotrichus_, one of which occurs in Japan, and the other on the Pacific coast of North America.

The evidence derived from the fossil remains of Insectivora, as to the former history of the order, in its bearing upon the present geographical distribution of its members, is very inconclusive; but the principal facts to be gathered from it is that from Miocene times to the present day the representatives of the order in different localities, so far as these are known, have generally belonged to the same types, and no undoubted remains of Insectivora are known from earlier formations than the Miocene. At one time, indeed, some of the beautiful Mammalian fossils of the Stonesfield slate (Lower Oolite) of Oxfordshire were regarded as probably representing Insectivora, but their Marsupial character is now generally recognised; and this is the case also with the _Dromotherium_ from the Trias of North Carolina, which was at one time believed to carry the present order so far back in time.

Species of the existing genera _Erinaceus_, _Sorex_, _Myogale_, and _Talpa_, and of several nearly-allied extinct genera, have been determined from Miocene and subsequent deposits in various parts of Europe, and especially from the lacustrine beds of the Auvergne; and in North America also a few species have been found and referred to genera for the most part almost identical with those still living on that continent. In some instances even the Miocene species appear to be nearly identical with those now inhabiting the same regions.

The principal apparent exceptions to this rule are to be found in a fossil species from the Miocene of the Auvergne, described by M. Pomel under the name of _Echinogale Laurillardii_ (Centetidæ), and two forms described by Hermann von Meyer, as forming a new genus (_Oxygomphius_), allied to the Bangsrings, from the Tertiary basin of Weisenau, in Southern Germany. But the true position of these fossils is, to say the least of it, exceedingly doubtful; and this is still more strikingly the case with the Eocene American genus _Omomys_ supposed to be an animal allied to the Hedgehogs and the Bangsrings, but which Professor Leidy himself, in describing it, compares with nearly all the types of true Insectivora and with the Opossums.

This last comparison leads us, perhaps, towards the origin of the Insectivora. In the East, the Bangsrings, and notably the beautiful little Ptilocerque, and the curious genus _Hylomys_, which, again, seems to unite the Bangsrings with the Hedgehogs through the anomalous genus _Gymnura_, present manifest relationships with the Phalangers, some of which abound in the islands further to the east. From these animals to the true Shrews, many of which abound in the east, is no great step. On the other hand, we have already seen that Brandt recognised Opossum-like characters in his _Solenodon_, but it must be confessed that these are almost exclusively external. Professor Leidy describes, besides _Omomys_ above referred to, some other fossils from the Eocene of Wyoming, which he seems to regard as Insectivorous in habit, but Marsupial in structure; and the Stonesfield Mammals, although plainly Marsupial, have Insectivorous tendencies, so that the derivation of the type Insectivora from the Marsupials, or at all events the near affinity of the two orders, perhaps at several points of contact, may be looked upon as established.

In the other direction the affinities of the order would seem to be through the Shrews, Hedgehogs, and Centetidæ with the Carnivora, towards which also the curious West African _Potamogale_ seems clearly to point. The Bangsrings, again, show some traces of an affinity to the Lemurs; and _Galeopithecus_ seems almost to constitute a central point of alliances, uniting the Insectivora with the Lemurs and Bats, and further exhibiting, as Mr. Wallace thinks, certain peculiarities which smack strongly of direct Marsupial relations. The relationship of the Insectivora to the Rodentia can hardly be regarded as a true affinity, although the analogies between different types in the two orders are among the most striking phenomena of the kind with which we are acquainted. The type of the Mice and Rats is reproduced by the Shrews, the Squirrels by the Bangsrings, the Porcupines by the Hedgehogs and Tanrecs, the Jerboas by the Jumping Shrews, and the Ondatra by the Desmans; whilst even the highly specialised Moles are reflected among the Rodents by the various species of Mole-Rats. But none of these resemblances indicate affinity, and the Rodent type may be regarded as differentiated from the old probably Marsupial ancestral forms quite independently of the Insectivora.

W. S. DALLAS.

PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] πλατύς, flat or broad; ῥινές, nostrils.

[2] κατά, downwards; ῥινές, nostrils.

[3] Ἄνθρωπος, man; μορφή, form or shape.

[4] The back edge of the hard, bony palate, with which the soft palate and uvula are continuous, forms a wide concave notch, whilst that of man projects in the centre of the notch.

[5] The tongue has the same kind of papillæ, or slight projections of its surface, as in man; some called fungiform are seen at the tip, and on the surface generally, and others more or less cup-shaped. These last are found at the back, and are not arranged in any definite shape or order.

[6] The Gibbons have no air sacs.

[7] See page 16.

[8] _Troglodytes Tschiégo_ (Duvernoy); _Troglodytes calvus_ (Du Chaillu).

[9] _Troglodytes Koolo-Kamba_ (Du Chaillu); _Troglodytes Aubryi_ (Gratiolet and Alix).

[10] Koolo is the cry, and Kambe means “to say.”

[11] _Troglodytes niger._

[12] This interesting animal died in 1876.

[13] They have several muscular peculiarities. Thus the great muscle of the hind part of the loins (sacro lumbalis) is vast and fleshy in man, but it is reduced to very small proportions in the great Apes. The great oblique muscle of the body is not attached to the hip, and the muscles of the buttocks are reduced excessively in the Apes. All this renders their erect position difficult and not usual. The motions of the shoulder and arms are assisted by extra muscles; one stretches from the sixth neck-vertebra to the first rib, another reaches from the outer part of the collar-bone to the neck in front, to the bone under the tongue (hyoid bone), and a third from the collar-bone to the side of the first vertebra. The small muscle of the chest (pectoralis minor) reaches to the capsule which surrounds the shoulder-joint. There is an extra muscle, which reaches from the back to the elbow, and which allows the animals, when hanging by one hand, to turn and twist the body slightly. The metacarpal bone of the little finger has a special muscle, which tends to enlarge the grasp of the hand. The great Apes have, however, an imperfect or deficient proper flexor to the thumb, and the extensor of the first joint of the thumb is wanting. The ill-developed “calf” has not its two great muscles combined in the one tendo Achillis, as in man, and the muscles of the foot are so arranged that they permit of much more independent motion than those of man have.

[14] _Simia satyrus._ _Simia morio._

[15] The _Transversus pedis_.

[16] A muscle, called the _accessory flexor_ of the toes, is absent in the Orangs, and one termed _scansorius_, or climber, exists on the outside of the hip and the joint of the thigh.

[17] * Is the intermediate bone.

[18] _Hylobates._

[19] _Hylobates syndactylus._

[20] The abductor of the third joint of the second finger. The thumb counts as the first finger.

[21] _Hylobates lar._

[22] _Hylobates hoolook._

[23] _Hylobates pileatus._

[24] _Hylobates agilis._

[25] _Cynomorpha._

[26] _Semnopithecus melalophus._

[27] _Semnopithecus maurus._

[28] _Semnopithecus nasalis._

[29] _Semnopithecus entellus._

[30] _Semnopithecus frontatus._

[31] _Semnopithecus rubicundus._

[32] _Semnopithecus nemæus._

[33] _Semnopithecus nigripes._

[34] _Semnopithecus Nestor._

[35] _Semnopithecus ursinus._

[36] The kinds of Monkeys included in this genus have a very wide geographical range. Mr. Wallace states that a species has been seen at an altitude of 11,000 feet in the Himalayas; and _Semnopithecus roxellana_, which resembles a young _Semnopithecus nasalis_, occurs in Eastern Tibet (about lat. 30° N.) in the highest forests. Elsewhere, they extend over the forest land of the Oriental region of natural history.

[37] Thumbless Monkeys.

[38] _Colobos guereza._

[39] _Cercopithecus._

[40] _Cercopithecus Diana._

[41] _Cercopithecus Mona._

[42] _Cercopithecus petaurista._

[43] _Cercopithecus talapoin._

[44] _Cercopithecus callitrichus._

[45] _Cercopithecus erythrogaster._

[46] _Cercopithecus ruber._

[47] _Cercopithecus æthiope._

[48] In the Cercopitheci the skull has a large brain-case, and that part on which the brain and cerebellum rest is concave or pitted on the petrosal bone, and on each side of the crista galli in the fore part of the skull. In general there is a laryngeal pouch. The first premolar is like that of the Semnopitheci. The other anatomical peculiarities of these and of the Semnopitheci will be found in the description of the Macaques and Baboons.

[49] _Macacus_, or _Inuus_.

[50] A name of the Roman divinity Faunus.

[51] _Macacus cynomolgus._

[52] _Macacus cyclopis._

[53] _Macacus radiatus._

[54] _Macacus rhesus._

[55] _Macacus maurus._

[56] _Macacus brunneus._

[57] _Macacus nemestrinus._

[58] _Macacus sylvanus, or Inuus ecaudatus._

[59] _Macacus silenus._

[60] _Cynocephalus._

[61] _Cynocephalus hamadryas._

[62] _Cynocephalus gelada._

[63] _Cynocephalus porcarius._

[64] _Cynocephalus sphinx._

[65] _Cynocephalus anubis._

[66] _Cynocephalus papio._

[67] _Cynocephalus mormon._

[68] The _Acromio-trachelian_. It does not exist in the Chimpanzees.

[69] _Cynocephalus leucophæus._

[70] _Cynocephalus niger._

[71] Some zoologists make a new genus (_Cynopithecus_) of the Black Asiatic Baboons. We demur.

[72] The Siamang is included in this genus.

[73] This spelling is preferable to “Colobus.”

[74] Some zoologists separate the Talapoin Monkey, and place it in a genus by itself; and the Mangabeys are sometimes included in a genus Cercocebus.

[75] The Gelada is included by some in a genus Theropithecus, from its nostrils opening high up; and the Black Baboon is placed in a genus Cynopithecus. These are all inadvisable complications.

[76] _Platyrrhini._

[77] _Mycetes._

[78] _Mycetes chrysum._

[79] _Mycetes villosus._

[80] _Lagothrix._

[81] _Lagothrix olivaceus._

[82] _Ateles._

[83] κρίκος, a ring; εἶδος, shape.

[84] _Ateles paniscus._

[85] _Ateles sub-pentadactylus._

[86] _Ateles variegatus._

[87] _Ateles cucullatus._

[88] _Cebus._

[89] _Cebus albifrons._

[90] _Cebus fatuelius._

[91] _Cebus capuchinus._

[92] This genus is sometimes divided into two--_Callithrix_ and _Chrysothrix_.

[93] _Callithrix sciurea._

[94] It appears to be a long-backed little thing, and this is not because it has more rib-bearing back-bones than the Monkeys of the Old World; on the contrary, they usually number only eleven. As regards the skeleton, the hips appear to be weakly joined on to the spine and to each other by one bone, instead of there being a long and strong sacrum to unite them. The breast-bone has only four pieces between the upper one (or the manubrium), and the cartilage at the lower end.

[95] _Callithrix lugens._

[96] _Callithrix discolor._

[97] _Nyctipithecus trivirgatus._

[98] _Nyctipithecus rufipes._

[99] _Nyctipithecus oseryi._

[100] _Pithecia._

[101] _Pithecia Satanas._

[102] _Pithecia hirsuta._

[103] _Pithecia monachus._

[104] _Pithecia, or Brachyurus calvus._

[105] _Pithecia melanocephala._

[106] _Pithecia leucocephala._

[107] _Arctopithecini._

[108] _Hapale._

[109] _Hapale Jacchus._

[110] _Hapale humeralifer._

[111] _Midas._

[112] _Midas ursulus._

[113] _Midas Devillii._

[114] _Midas rosalia._

[115] An exception must be made in favour of the “Histoire Physique, Naturelle et Politique de Madagascar,” of M. Alfred Grandidier.

[116] _Indris diadema._

[117] _Indris laniger._

[118] _Indris brevicaudatus._

[119] This classification is not that adopted by comparative anatomists, but rather by zoologists.

[120] _Lemur albifrons._

[121] _Lemur mayottensis._

[122] _Lemur mongoz._

[123] _Lemur varius._

[124] _Lemur niger._

[125] χείρ (hand), γαλῆ (weasel).

[126] _Cheirogale furcifer._

[127] _Cheirogale Coquerellii._

[128] _Cheirogale nain._

[129] _Galago_.

[130] _Galago Demidoffii and Galago murinus._

[131] _Galago senegalensis._

[132] _Galago sennaariensis._

[133] _Galago maholi._

[134] This species, which intervenes between the Maholi and Grand Galago, we have already figured and described (see pp. 215, 216).

[135] _Galago crassicaudatus_ (GEOFFROY).

[136] _Galago Monteiri_ (BARTLETT).

[137] _Perodicticus potto._

[138] A very surprising term, as it applies to a Lemuroid.

[139] _Arctocebus calabarensis._

[140] _Nycticebus._

[141] _Loris_, or _Stenops gracilis_.

[142] _Tarsius spectrum_ (GEOFFROY).

[143] _Cheiromys Madagascariensis._

[144] The formula of the milk set is--I. 4/2, C. 2/0, M. 2/2, = 12. That of the permanent set is--I. 2/2, C. 0/0, P. M. 2/0, M. 6/6 = 18. Professor Peters of Berlin moreover states his having found in a very early stage of development in the Aye-Aye, rudimentary teeth yielding a milk dentition--I. 6/2, C. 2/0, M. 6/2 = 18.

[145] The simplicity of this classification is its great merit. The student will, however, find many other genera mentioned in books or placed before the specific names in museums. Thus, the beautiful Lemuroids in the British Museum of our genus Indris are called Propithecus, when the animals have tails, and the genus Lemur is termed _Varecia_. The genus Galago includes the animals called by some zoologists _Otolicnus_ and _Otogale_, &c.

[146] _Pteropus medius._

[147] Colonel Sykes states that he had met with individuals more than fourteen inches long.

[148] _Pteropus edulis._

[149] _Pteropus nicobaricus_, _jubatus_, _dasymallus_, and _griseus_.

[150] _Pteropus poliocephalus._

[151] _Pteropus Gouldii._

[152] _Pteropus vulgaris._

[153] _Cynonycteris ægyptiaca._

[154] _Cynonycteris collaris._

[155] _Cynonycteris amplexicaudata._

[156] _Cynopterus marginatus._

[157] _Epomophorus Whitii._

[158] _Hypsignathus monstrosus._

[159] _Harpyia cephalotes._

[160] _Cephalotes Peronii._

[161] _Macroglossus minimus._

[162] _Melonycteris melanops._

[163] _Notopteris Macdonaldii._

[164] _Rhinolophus luctus_, _Phyllorhina armiger_, _Nycticejus luteus_ (=_Scotophilus Temminckii_), _Miniopterus blepotis_, and _Vespertilio Blythii_.

[165] _Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum._

[166] To this lobe the name of “antitragus” has been given.

[167] _Rhinolophus hipposideros._

[168] Besides the two species found in Britain, two others inhabit southern Europe, the Levant, and Northern Africa, namely, _Rhinolophus euryale_ and _R. Blasii_, the latter often described under the name of _R. clivosus_. Both these species are nearly allied to the English Horseshoe Bats.

[169] _Rhinolophus luctus._

[170] The commonest of the numerous Eastern species of the genus are Pearson’s Horseshoe Bat (_R. Pearsonii_), which has a very large nose-leaf and greatly developed ear lobes, and is found throughout the lofty hill-countries from the Himalayas to the mountains of Burmah and China; Roux’s Horseshoe Bat (_R. affinis_), which varies in colour from orange-brown to greyish-brown, and is found among the hills all over India, and in Ceylon, Burmah, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo; and the Dwarf Horseshoe Bat (_R. minor_), only about one inch and three-quarters in length, which occurs in Burmah, Yunnan, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Japan. Several varieties of the last two species have been described as distinct forms.

[171] _Rhinolophus megaphyllus._

[172] _Rhinonycteris aurantia._

[173] _Phyllorhina armigera._

[174] Other common Eastern species are the Masked Leaf Bat (_Phyllorhina larrata_), which occurs in Bengal, Further India, Siam, and Java; the Bicolorous Leaf Bat (_P. bicolor_), which inhabits India, China, and many of the Eastern islands; and the Indian Horseshoe Bat (_P. speoris_), an abundant form in Central and Southern India and in Ceylon, and which has also been met with in Burmah. A single species (_P. taitiensis_) has been described from Tahiti. It is very nearly related to the last-named Indian form, if not merely a variety of it. A single species (_P. cerrina_) also inhabits North Australia, where it has been met with at Cape York, and in sandstone caverns in Albany Island. It is about two inches long; above, tawny-brown, darker on the face, head, and shoulders; below, paler, with a grey tinge on the belly. Several species of the genus inhabit the warmer parts of Africa, and one of these (_P. tridens_), a small species, only two inches in length, an inhabitant of Egypt and Nubia, has the posterior nose-leaf divided into three teeth towards the forehead, a character which it displays in common with an Indian species (_P. Stoiiczkana_), and another from Amboyna and Batchian, of still more diminutive proportions. A distinct genus (_Asellia_) has been proposed for the reception of these Bats. The largest species of the genus comes from Guinea and the Gold Coast, on the west coast of Africa. It is nearly five inches in length, and has received the name of _Phyllorhina gigas_. It is associated with two or three smaller species, and two or three others occur in Southern and Eastern Africa.

[175] _Triænops persicus._

[176] This character is of special importance here, as serving to distinguish the Megaderms from the species of another family of Leaf-nosed Bats belonging to the second principal group of Microchiroptera.

[177] _Megaderma lyra._

[178] See also some general remarks on the supposed carnivorous propensities of the _Rhinolophidæ_, p. 281.

[179] _Megaderma frons._

[180] _Nycteris thebaica._

[181] Other described African species are _N. capensis_ (Smith); _N. macrotis_ (Dobson); _N. hispida_ (Schreber); and _N. grandis_ (Peters). The only species found out of Africa is the Javanese Desert Bat (_N. javanica_).

[182] _Plecotus auritus._

[183] _Synotus barbastellus._

[184] _Corynorhinus macrotis._

[185] _Nyctophilus Geoffroyi._

[186] _Vesperugo pipistrellus._

[187] A name derived from the Italian equivalent of the word “Bat.”

[188] Mr. R. McLachlan, F.R.S., mentioned to the present writer an instance which fell within his own experience of the dislodgment of a Bat from beneath a large piece of bark which was torn from a tree by an entomologist in search of Beetles or larvæ. When the bark was detached, the Bat fell, but the entomologist, being unprepared probably for such large game, omitted to secure it, and the species was not ascertained.

[189] _Vesperugo noctula._

[190] _Vesperugo serotinus._

[191] _Vesperugo discolor._

[192] _Vesperugo abramus._

[193] _Vesperugo pachypus._

[194] Another Eastern species, furnished with pads on the thumbs and feet, is the Club-footed Bat (_V. tylopus_), from Northern Borneo, which is distinguished from the above by the presence of two pre-molars on each side in the upper jaw. A small African species, the Dwarf Club-footed Bat (_V. nanus_), is similarly provided.

[195] _Scotophilus Temminckii._

[196] _Scotophilus Welwitschii._

[197] _Chalinolobus tuberculatus._

[198] _Vespertilio murinus._

[199] _Vespertilio Nattereri._

[200] _Vespertilio Daubentonii._

[201] _Vespertilio mystacinus._

[202] Other European species are Bechstein’s Bat (_Vespertilio Bechsteinii_), which has occurred in the New Forest; the Marsh Bat (_Vespertilio dasycneme_), which inhabits the Altai Mountains, and in Europe extends, according to Mr. Dobson, from Russia to England; Capaccini’s Bat (_V. Capaccinii_), an inhabitant of Italy, with which specimens from the Philippine Islands and Japan have been identified; and the Notched-eared Bat (_V. emarginatus_), found in Central and Southern Europe, and extending eastward into Persia.

[203] _Vespertilio formosus._

[204] _Kerivoula picta._

[205] _Harpiocephalus harpia._

[206] _Atalapha novæboracensis._

[207] Other recorded species of this genus are: _A. intermedia_, from Mexico, _A. Pfeifferi_, from Cuba, _A. Frantzii_, from Brazil and Costa Rica, _A. varia_, from Peru and Chili, _A. paltescens_, from Venezuela, and _A. Grayi_, from Chili, all with molars (5–5)/(5–5); and _A. egregia_, from Brazil, _A. Ega_, from Brazil, and _A. caudata_, from Pernambuco and Chili, with molars (4–4)/(5–5). _A. Grayi_ has been said to occur at Juan da Fuca, in North America, and in the Sandwich Islands.

[208] _Miniopterus Schreibersii._

[209] Other recorded species are _Miniopterus tristis_, from the Philippine Islands, and _M. australis_, from the Loyalty Islands.

[210] _Thyroptera tricolor._

[211] Mr. Dobson’s paper above referred to (“Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” 1876, p. 526) contains some interesting particulars as to the occurrence of adhesive organs in Bats and other Mammals.

[212] A second species, _Thyroptera albiventer_, has been described by Mr. Tomes from the vicinity of the Rio Napo, near Quito. It is rather larger than the preceding, and of a reddish-brown colour above, with the lower parts pure white.

[213] _Natalus stramineus._

[214] _Furipterus horrens._

[215] _Saccopteryx bilineata._

[216] In one species, _Saccopteryx plicata_, from Costa Rica, of which Professor Peters makes his genus _Balantiopteryx_, the sac is placed in the middle of the shoulder membrane. In this species, also, the facial part of the skull is inflated on each side. In _S. canina_ and its allies the sac is in the margin of the membrane. These form the genus _Peropteryx_ of Professor Peters.

[217] Other described species of the genus are _Saccopteryx canina_, from Brazil, Guiana, Venezuela, and Guatemala; _S. leptura_, from Surinam; _S. villosa_, from Brazil; _S. Kappleri_, and _S. leucoptera_, from Surinam; _S. brevirostris_, from Brazil; and _S. plicata_, from Costa Rica. _Rhynchonycteris naso_, the Sharp-nosed Bat, is allied to these, but distinguished especially by its very pointed snout. It inhabits Brazil, Surinam, and Guiana.

[218] _Emballonura monticola._

[219] Other known species are _Emballonura nigrescens_, from Amboyna, Ternate, and Australia; and _E. semicaudata_, an inhabitant of the Samoa, Fiji, and Pelew Islands. An allied African species is _Colëura afra_, which, however, presents some characters indicating a relationship to the American _Saccopteryx_.

[220] _Taphozous perforatus._

[221] Other described species of the genus are:--_Taphozous longimanus_, with a large throat-sac in the male, found in India, Ceylon, and Burmah; _T. melanopagon_, with no throat-pouch, but usually with a small black beard under the chin (see figure above), an inhabitant of India, Penang, Burmah, Cochin China, Java, and the Philippine Islands; _T. Theobaldi_, from Tenasserim; _T. australis_, from Australia and New Guinea; _T. mauritianus_, with white wings, from tropical Africa, Madagascar, and the Mascarene Islands; _T. saccolaimus_, from India and the larger Eastern islands; _T. affinis_, from Labuan; and _T. Peli_, from tropical Africa. The Valve-tailed Bat (_Diclidurus albus_), a native of Brazil, is remarkable for its whitish colour, and especially for the presence of a curious horny case, composed of two parts, which covers the extremity of the tail, and is attached to the upper surface of the interfemoral membrane.

[222] _Rhinopoma microphyllum._

[223] _Rhinopoma Lepsianum_ (Peters), is another African species. It inhabits the banks of the Blue Nile.

[224] _Noctilio leporinus._

[225] The White-bellied Hare-lipped Bat (_N. albiventris_) is also an inhabitant of South America.

[226] _Nyctinomus Cestonii._

[227] _Nyctinomus tragatus_ (Dobson), from Continental India, is a nearly allied species, as also _Nyctinomus plicatus_, an inhabitant of India, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.

[228] _Nyctinomus brasiliensis._

[229] In a paper on the group Molossi, Mr. Dobson distinguishes in all twenty-one species of the genus _Nyctinomus_, mostly inhabitants of the Eastern hemisphere. Three species besides the one above described are found in America.

[230] _Molossus nasutus._

[231] Mr. Dobson (_Proceedings of the Zoological Society_, 1876) describes nine species of _Molossus_, all from tropical America.

[232] _Chiromeles torquatus._

[233] _Mystacina tuberculata._

[234] _Mormops Blainvillii._

[235] _Chilonycteris Macleayii._

[236] _Phyllostoma hastatum._

[237] _Vampryus spectrum._

[238] _Macrotus Waterhousii._

[239] Other known species are _Macrotus californicus_ and _M. mexicanus_, the native countries of which are indicated in their specific names.

[240] _Glossophaga soricina._

[241] _Monophyllus Redmanii._

[242] _Phyllonycteris Sezekornii._

[243] Poey’s Leaf Bat (_Phyllonycteris Poeyi_) is a second species inhabiting Cuba.

[244] The rest of the species forming the group _Glossophaga_ have three premolars on each side in each jaw, and the inner upper incisors smaller than the outer ones. The lower incisors are more or less deciduous, and sometimes altogether wanting in the adult. _Lonchoglossa caudifera_ has a well-developed zygomatic arch, and the interfemoral membrane, tail, and spurs very short. It is from Western Brazil and Surinam. The tail in this species is liable to be withdrawn, or lost in preparing the skin of the animal, and hence it has been described under the rather contradictory names of _caudifera_ and _ecaudata_, and a distinct genus (_Anura_) was established upon the apparently tailless specimens. In _Glossonycterus lasiopyga_ the zygomatic arch is deficient, and the tail is wanting; the spurs and interfemoral membrane are very short, and the latter is covered with hair. It is an inhabitant of Mexico. _Chœronycteris mexicana_, from Mexico, and _C. minor_, from Surinam, have a well-developed interfemoral membrane enclosing a very short tail. The anterior molars are very narrow, and the first upper premolar is deciduous.

[245] _Stenoderma perspicillatum._

[246] _Stenoderma jamaicense._

[247] Two other species of Stenoderms are referred to _Artibeus_ by Professor Peters, namely, his _A. fallax_, and _A. concolor_, both from Surinam. Both these have five molar teeth in the upper jaw, the preceding species having only four on each side. Three other species forming the sub-genus _Dermanura_, with only four molars on each side of both jaws, are _Artibeus cinereus_ and _quadrivittatus_, from South America, and _A. toltecum_, from Mexico. _Phyllops albomaculatus_, from Cuba and Jamaica, and _P. personatus_, from Brazil, have five molars on each side in both jaws, and the palate is deeply cut out between the molars. In _Vampyrops lineatus_ and _vittatus_, both South American species, the number of molars is also five, but the palate is not so deeply cut. The typical species of the genus _Stenoderma_, _S. rufum_, resembles this, but has only four molars on each side in each jaw, as described by Geoffroy, but this may be due to the youth of the specimen. _Pygoderma bilabiatum_ and _Ametrida centurio_ also have only four molars on each side, and the hindmost of these is very small. In the latter the face is much flattened. _Chiroderma villosum_ and _pusillum_, on the contrary, have the fourth or hindmost molar larger than any of the rest, and are further characterised by a broad fissure which runs up from the aperture of the nose to the space between the orbits. _Sturnira lilium_ and _chiliensis_ have five molars on each side, and no interfemoral membrane. The former is from Brazil and Paraguay, the latter from Chili. _Brachyphylla cavernarum_, a curious Bat from caves in the islands of St. Vincent and Cuba, which is also said to occur in South Carolina, has an oval nose-leaf surrounded behind by a pit, a triangular fissure in the lower lip, and a rudimentary tail; and the singular genus _Centurio_, including two species (_C. senex_ and _McMurtrii_), found in the West Indies and Central America, has a big, Bull-dog-like head and a flat face covered with naked cutaneous leaves. The teeth in _Centurio_ resemble those of the Spectacled Stenoderm. There is no tail, and the wing-membranes display peculiar translucent patches.

[248] _Desmodus rufus._

[249] According to Professor Gervais; some zoologists make the number of incisors in the first dentition six. The first teeth differ entirely in character from those of the adult animal.

[250] The wound is, in fact, very much like that which many of our readers must occasionally have inflicted on themselves in shaving; and those who are experienced in such matters will know how long it takes to stop the bleeding thus produced.

[251] There is sometimes a difficulty in distinguishing between canines and premolars, and it will be seen, hereafter, that in some cases the canines are supposed to be wanting; but no Insectivore possesses two chisel-like, constantly-growing incisors in each jaw, separated by a long interval from the molars, as in the Rodents, or Gnawing Mammals.

[252] _Galeopithecus volans._

[253] _Tupaia tana._

[254] _Tupaia ferruginea._

[255] _Ptilocercus Lowii._

[256] _Hylomys suillus._

[257] _Macroscelides typicus._

[258] _Macroscelides Rozeti._

[259] _Petrodromus tetradactylus._

[260] _Rhynchocyon Cernei._

[261] _Erinaceus europæus._

[262] _Erinaceus auritus._

[263] _Erinaceus collaris._

[264] _Gymnura Rafflesii._

[265] _Centetes ecaudatus._

[266] _Ericulus spinosus._

[267] _Oryzorictes hova._

[268] _Geogale aurita._

[269] _Solenodon paradoxus._

[270] _Solenodon cubanus._

[271] _Potamogale velox._

[272] _Chrysochloris capensis._

[273] _Talpa europæa._

[274] _Talpa cæca_.

[275] _Condylura cristata._

[276] _Scalops aquaticus._

[277] _Myogale moschata_.

[278] _Myogale pyrenaica._

[279] _Urotrichus talpoides._

[280] _Sorex vulgaris._

[281] Hence the species was called _S. tetragonurus_, by Hermann.

[282] Two or three other Old World species belong to this group, among which may be mentioned the Alpine Shrew (_S. alpinus_), which appears to range from the Alps to India; and the Blackish Shrew (_S. nigrescens_), a very common species in Sikkim and Nepaul. At Darjeling Mr. Jerdon found many specimens lying dead in the roads without apparent injury. Several allied species also inhabit North America, such as Forster’s Shrew (_S. Forsterii_), the Long-nosed Shrew (_S. longirostris_), &c.

[283] _Blarina Dekayi._

[284] _Crocidura aranea._

[285] _Crocidura myosura._

[286] _Crossopus fodiens._

[287] _Nectogaie ciegans._

[288] _Anurosorex squamipes._