Rev. L. Jenyns on the British Shrews* 4t23 



size from the first to the last ; all the teeth more or less co- 

 loured at their tips, 



Sp. 1. S, rusticus, Jen. (Common Shrew.) Snout and feet 

 slender : tail moderately stout, nearly cylindrical, not atte- 

 nuated at the tip, well clothed with hairs, which are very di- 

 vergent in the young state, and never closely appressed. 



S. Araneus, Man. Brit. Vert. p. 17. — S. tetragonurus, Geoff. Ann. Mus. 



xvii. p. 177. pi. 2. f. 3 ?— Fetid Shrew, Penn. Brit, Zool. i. p. 125.— 



Common Shrew, Bell. Brit. Quad. p. 109. 

 Hab. Appears principally to frequent dry situations; gardens, hedge- 

 banks, &c. 



Far. /3. S. Hibernicus, Jen. (Irish Shrew.) 



I am indebted to Mr. R. Ball, of Dublin, for a specimen of 

 the common shrew of Ireland, which I believe to be a distinct 

 species ; but as I have seen only one individual, I shall not at 

 present consider it as more than a variety of the S. rusticus. 

 It differs principally in its smaller size (although evidently an 

 old individual) ; in its more uniform colours, the under parts 

 being similar to the upper, only somewhat paler ; and in the 

 form of the tail, which is not so stout or so long as in the 

 common English shrew, and rather more tapering at the ex- 

 tremity. The hairs on the tail are short and very much worn, 

 the apical half of the tail being nearly naked, and consequently 

 without any pencil at the tip. The teeth are so much worn 

 down that their original characters can hardly be ascertained; 

 but the lateral incisors above appear more crowded, or set 

 closer together, than in the English shrew. The feet and 

 ears are similar ; the snout not materially different, but the 

 distance from its extremity to the ear a little longer in propor- 

 tion ; this, however, may possibly be due to age. The follow- 

 ing are the exact dimensions of this specimen : 



inch. line. 

 Length of head and body 2 1 



head 9^ 



— tail 1 3§ 



hind foot 5i 



fove foot 34; 



ears 1§ 



From ear to eye 3$ 



to end of the snout , 8 



Sp. 2. S, tetragonurus, Herm. (Square-tailed Shrew), 

 Snout broader than in the last species : feet, fore especially, 



