a gland covered by two rows of coarse hairs. This secretes a peculiar fluid, on which the odour of the animal depends; this odour being evidently protective, and rendering the creature secure against the attacks of many predaceous animals.

The geographical range of the Common Shrew is exceedingly wide, extending eastwards through Europe and Asia (north of the Himalayas) to North America.

The Lesser Shrew (S. pygmaeus 1) is far less common in England and Scotland, although more abundant in Ireland, where S. vulgaris is unknown. It is distinguished from the latter not only by its inferior dimensions, but also by the circumstance that the third upper incisor is not longer than the fourth, and by the considerably shorter length of the forearm and manus. This species extends through Europe and Asia as far as the island of Saghalin. Both

this and the preceding species generally live in wooded districts, making their nests under the roots of trees, or in slight hollows. The great mortality noticeable among the Shrews in the early part of the autumn is probably due to insufficiency of food. The breeding season extends from the latter part of April to the beginning of August. The young, which are blind, naked, and toothless at birth, are very quickly developed. The number in a litter is usually from five to seven, but may be as many as ten.

The Alpine Shrew (S. alpinus), which is restricted to the Alpine region of Central Europe, is slightly larger than the common species, from which it is distinguished by the longer tail, the length of which exceeds that of the head and body, by the fur being dark on both surfaces of the body, and also by the larger size of the upper canine.

In North America S. bendirei is by far the largest species of the genus; and, as in many other species of the same country, the fourth upper incisor is relatively small. In S. hoyi (separated by

1 Syn. S. minutus.

some writers as Microsorex), of the same country, this tooth is rudimentary.

Other North American Shrews, which are regarded by some zoologists as generically distinct under the name of Neosorez, are aquatic, and thus take the place of the Old World genus Crossopus. These are S. palustris of the Rocky Mountains and S. hydrodromus of Unalaska Island, both of which resemble Crossopus in having the feet provided with swimming fringes, but agree with the other species of Sorex in their dentition and the character of the tail. The former species is about the size of Crossopus fodiens, while the latter is scarcely larger than S. pygmæus.

Soriculus.-Dentition: i, c, p, m; total 30, or rarely 32. Opening of male or female generative organs forming with the anal orifice a shallow cloaca. Ear and tail as in Sorex. First upper incisor with an internal cusp. Habits terrestrial.

This genus is the only representative in the Oriental region of the Soricine, which are otherwise confined to the Palearctic and Nearctic regions. The Indian and Burmese species comprise S. nigrescens, S. caudatus, and S. macrurus.

Notiosorex.2-Dentition: i, c ž, p ì, m ; total 28. Tail moderate; first upper incisor without an inner cusp; other characters as in Soriculus. Habits terrestrial.

This American genus is represented by S. crawfordi and S. evotis, which are found in Central America and Mexico, and are thus some of the most southerly representatives of the Shrews in that continent. Their external appearance is very similar to that of the Old World genus Crocidura.

4-3
2

Blarina. Dentition: i ', c f, p 2, m z ; total 32 or 30. Ear truncated above; tail short; otherwise as in Soriculus. This group of so-called Earless or Short-tailed Shrews is mainly North American, the common forms being B. dekayi and B. brevicauda.The species vary considerably in size; and B. mexicana and micrura extend the range of the genus into Mexico and Guatemala. The following account of the habits of B. brevicaudalis taken from Dr. Merriam's Mammals of the Adirondack Region: "The rigours of our northern winters seem to have no effect in diminishing its activity, for it scampers about on the snow during the severest weather, and I have known it to be out when the thermometer indicated a temperature of 20° Fahr. It makes long journeys over the snow, burrowing down whenever it comes to an elevation that denotes the presence of a log or stump, and I am inclined to believe that at this season it must feed largely upon

1 Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xxiv. p. 36 (1855). 2 Coues, Bull U.S. Geol. Surv. Terrs. vol. iii. p. 646 (1877). 3 Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc.

1837, p. 124.

the chrysalides and larvæ of insects that are always to be found in such places." Dr. Merriam has made the interesting discovery that the common short-tailed North American Shrew supplements its insectivorous fare by feeding on beech-nuts, which will account for the generally very worn state of the teeth in this species.

Crossopus.-Dentition: i, c, p, m; total 30. Opening of male or female generative organs enclosed within the same ring as the anal orifice; penis broad, with lateral processes. Ears small, not truncated. Tail long, with an inferior fringe of elongated hair; feet also fringed. Habits aquatic. The Palearctic WaterShrew (C. fodiens) is considerably larger than the Common Shrew, from which it is readily distinguished externally by its shorter and much broader muzzle, comparatively smaller eyes, and larger feet adapted for swimming, the sides of the feet and toes being provided with comb-like fringes of stiff hairs. The tail is longer than the body, and possesses a well-developed swimming fringe of moderately long, regularly arranged hairs, which extend along the middle of the flat under surface from the end of its basal third to its extremity. The fur of the body is long and very dense, varying much in colour in different individuals, and this has given rise to descriptions of many nominal species; the prevailing shades are dark brown, almost black, above, and more or less bright ashy tinged with yellowish beneath; sometimes in the same litter there are individuals with the under surface more or less dark coloured. In the number as well as in the shape of the teeth the WaterShrew differs from the Common Shrew: there is a premolar less on each side above; the bases of the teeth are much more prolonged posteriorly; and their cusps are much less stained brown, so that in old individuals with worn teeth they often appear altogether white. This species resembles the otter in its aquatic habits, swimming and diving with great agility. It frequents rivers and lakes, making its burrows in the overhanging banks, from which when disturbed it escapes into the water. Its food consists of insects and their larvæ, small crustaceans, and probably the fry of small fishes. It is generally distributed throughout England, is less common in Scotland, and as yet it has not been recorded in Ireland; specimens have been obtained from many parts of Europe, and also from Asia as far eastward as the Altai Mountains. Subfamily Crocidurinæ.-Teeth completely white.

2

Myosorex.2—Dentition: i, c, P, mg; total 30 or 32. Penis cylindroid and tapering; male or female generative organs opening close to anal orifice, but not forming a cloaca. Ears well developed; tail long, clothed with equal or subequal hairs. Habits terrestrial.

This genus is typically represented by M. varius, a very small 1 Wagler, Isis, 1832, p. 275. Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 124.

2

Shrew from the Cape, which is quite unique among the whole family in having a rudimental seventh pair of lower teeth.

2-1

Crocidura.1-Dentition: i, cb, p2, m §; total 28 or 30. Male or female generative organs forming a short cloaca with the anal orifice. Tail long, with a mixture of long and short hairs. Other characters as in Myosorex. Habits terrestrial.

This Old World genus includes over seventy nominal species, which have been divided into four subgenera, C. aranea and C. suaveolens of Continental Europe, and C. caerulea of India, being wellknown forms. The species are very variable and difficult to discriminate. C. aranea has a very wide distribution, ranging from Central and Southern Europe to North Africa and Central Asia. The name Musk-Rat is popularly applied in India to C. cœrulea, which frequents houses at night, hunting round rooms for cockroaches and other insects, and occasionally uttering a sharp shrill cry. The strong musky odour of this animal arises from large glands situated beneath the skin of the side of the body, a short distance behind the fore limbs. This odour is so powerful and penetrating that it is popularly believed in India that if the animal runs over a corked bottle of wine or beer it will infect the fluid within. Jerdon says that certainly many bottles are met with quite undrinkable from the peculiar musky odour of their contents, but, rejecting the possibility of its passing through the glass, he attributes it to the corks having been infected previously to bottling, stating in corroboration of this view that he has never found the odour in liquors bottled in England.

Diplomesodon.2-Dentition: i, c ¿, p¦, m § ; total 26. Tail moderate; soles of the feet hairy. Other characters as in Crocidura. Habits terrestrial.

This genus is represented only by D. pulchellus of the Kirghiz steppes, which is allied to the following form, although retaining the normal Shrew-like external contour.

Anurosorex.3-Dentition: i, c z, p 1, m 3 ; total 26. Ear very short; tail rudimental or short; soles of feet naked. Other characters as in Diplomesodon.

The two species of this genus are Mole-like terrestrial forms, of which the typical A. squamipes occurs in Tibet, while A. assamensis is found in Assam. The latter species has the longer tail. The habits of both are probably fossorial.

Chimarrogale.+-Dentition: i, c, p¦, m §; total 28. Penis broad, with lateral processes; male or female generative organs opening within the same integumentary ring as the anal orifice.

1 Wagler, Isis, 1832, p. 275.

p. 299 (1852).

2 Brandt, in Lehmann's Reise. - Zool. Anh. 3 Milne-Edwards, Comptes Rendus, vol. lxx. p. 341 (1870).

4 Anderson, Journ. As, Soc. Bengal, vol. xlvi. p. 262 (1877).

Tail long, with an inferior fringe of elongated hairs; ears small; plantar callosities simple; toes free. Habits aquatic.

This genus includes C. himalayica of the Himalaya and C. platycephalus of Japan. Both have the feet fringed, and, together with the next genus, may be regarded as the eastern analogues of Crossopus among the red-toothed series; their structural resemblances to the latter, if Dr. Dobson's classification is a natural one, being probably due to adaptation for a similar mode of life.

Nectogale1-Dentition: i, c, pi, m; total 28. External

FIG. 288.-Nectogale elegans. (From Milne-Edwards, Mammif. Tibet.)

ears not forming a conch, valvular. Plantar callosities forming adhesive pads; toes webbed. Other characters as in Chimarrogale. Habits aquatic.

The sole representative of this genus is the Tibetan WaterShrew (N. elegans, Fig. 288), which differs from all other members of the family by the webbed toes and the presence of the disc-like adhesive pads on the under surface of the feet, which are believed to enable the creature to hold on to smooth rocks or stones in the beds of the streams it inhabits. This species is probably more completely aquatic in its habits than the allied Chimarrogale.

Fossil Soricida.-Remains of existing species of Sorex or Crossopus occur in the Norfolk Forest bed, while an extinct species has been found in the Pleistocene of Sardinia. Crocidura occurs in the cavern-deposits of Madras. Shrews from the Miocene and Upper

1 Milne-Edwards, Comptes Rendus, vol. lxx. p. 341 (1870).