Mr. E. Blyth on the Indian species of Shrews. 15 



of S. C^RULESCENS (length 5| in. ; tail 2 J in.) : and S. Capensis, 

 GeofFroy, is termed S. francinus by Prof. Schinz, who gives 

 Mauritius as its habitat (length 3" 8'"; tail 1" 9'"). The most 

 notable identification is that of Dr. RiippelFs specimens from 

 E. Africa and from Java, presuming the latter to be really from 

 that island. 



2. S. MURiNUS, L. ; >S. myosurus, Pallas ; S. ccerulescens, var., 

 Raffles ; S. Griffithii (?), Horsfield j the common Malayan spe- 

 cies originally described from Java, and by Dr. Cantor in J. A. 

 S. XV. 191, and thus denominated by him after Prof. Schinz 

 (Synopsis Mammalium), who states it to inhabit Java, Sumatra, 

 Borneo, Celebes, Amboyna, Japan, Bengal, Abyssinia, and the 

 Cape of Good Hope. 



We have italicized the habitats which probably need veri- 

 fication : and the Society possesses specimens from the Arakan 

 and Khasya Hills, which accord with Dr. Cantor's description, 

 /. c. ; but less so with M. GeofFroy St. Hilaire's figure in the 

 Annales du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, torn. xvii. pi. 3. f. 2, 

 which may nevertheless be intended to represent the same spe- 

 cies. As compared with a mature female from Arakan, taken 

 out of spirit, the ears in M. GeofiVoy's figure are represented 

 too small, and neither the snout nor tail is sufficiently elon- 

 gated. Length of this Arakan female — head and body 5 in., 

 and tail 3 in. ; hind-foot (with claws) J in. Unfortunately we 

 have no Malayan specimen for actual comparison ; but there is 

 every reason to suspect that this species replaces S. CiERU- 

 LESCENS along the whole eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, 

 and thence through the hilly country northward to that skirting 

 the valley of Asam. Dr. Horsfield mentions a Nepalese speci- 

 men presented to the India House by Mr. Hodgson ; but this 

 species is unnoticed in the latter gentleman's Catalogue of 

 Nepalese animals, and especially in his descriptive notices of the 

 Nepalese Shrews, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. xv. 269. 



With the exception of the small S. tenuis, S. Miiller, from 

 Timor, it appears to be the only well-established species of 

 Shrew throughout the great Oriental archipelago. In the Tenas- 

 serim provinces, the Rev. J. Mason states — "We have at least 

 two species of Musk Shrew, both of which emit an offensive 

 odour.'' (Qu. S. murinus and S. serpentarius ?) In S. mu- 

 RiNUS, according to Dr. Cantor, " the smell of musk emitted by 

 the adult animal, and which in the young is barely perceptible, 

 is much less intense than in the Bengal Musk Shrew." S. ser- 

 pentarius, according to Dr. Kelaart, has a powerfully offensive 

 musky odour. S. murinus has longer ears than S. c^rules- 



