MAMMALS 



399 



Photograph by E. R. Sanborn, N. . Zobl. Soc. 



FIG. 171. European hedgehog (Erinaccus Europacus), one of the larger 



Insectivora. 



(a) Insectivora. The Insectivores, or insect eaters, insectivores 



include the moles, shrews, and hedgehogs, the 

 last confined to the Old World. There are 

 also various isolated and peculiar genera, such 

 as the Solenodon of Cuba and Haiti, a creature 

 with a bristly, pointed snout and long, thick 

 tail. In the popular mind some of these ani- 

 mals, such as the shrews, are confused with the 

 mice, but a glance at their sharp, pointed teeth 

 shows the incorrectness of this association. 

 They are actually nearer to the bats, different 

 as these appear. The golden moles of South 

 Africa, with their metallic-looking fur of golden 

 bronzy, greenish, or violet shades, are beautiful 

 and remarkable animals. Representatives have 

 been found fossil in North America, but are of 

 course known only by the bones. 



(b) Chiroptera. The bats, easily recognized by their Bats, flying 



powers of flight. Many are insectivorous, but 



mammals 



