388 Professor MacGillivray on the Mammalia of the 



cealed place, and enters into a lethargic state, which continues until 

 about the end of spring, or earlier, according to the temperature, 

 when it leaves its retreat, generally much emaciated. 



The form of its skull and teeth shews that it closely approaches 

 to the Shrews, which belong to the next family, and both groups 

 present a considerable resemblance to the Insectivorous Chiroptera 

 in these respects. 



Fam, SoEiciNA. — Two large, more or less decurved, canine teeth 

 above, two more elongated, generally protended, canine teeth below ; 

 several small, compressed, anterior, and large tuberculate molar teeth 

 in both jaws. Anterior limbs very short, with the feet rather long; 

 posterior limbs short, slender, with the feet narrow ; tlie claws com- 

 pressed, slender, acute; body sub-cylindrical, or somewhat tapering be- 

 hind, with fine soft or velvety pile ; tail of moderate length. 



Gen. SoREX. — Head depressed, tapering to a long narrow muzzle, 

 with the snout small and mobile; nostrils small, terminal; eyes very 

 small ; ears very short, broadly rounded ; mouth small ; in the upper 

 jaw, on each side, a large, more or less decurved, lobed canine tooth, 

 from three to five small, and four large, many-pointed molar teeth in 

 the lower jaw, on each side, a very large canine tooth directed forwards ; 

 body nearly cylindrical, or somewhat tapering behind; neck short; tail 

 slender, of moderate length ; anterior limbs very short, with the feet 

 slender, five- toed ; posterior limbs short,, with slender toes ; claws small, 

 arched, compressed, very acute. 



The British species of this genus have received much attention 

 from Mr Jenyns, to whom we are indebted for nearly all the correct 

 knowledge hitherto possessed respecting them. I have made those 

 of our district very special objects of study, and have some hope that 

 the following minute descriptions of them will be found not unin- 

 teresting : — 



to 



1. Sorex Tetragonurus. Square-tailed Shrew. 



Dusky -brown above ; reddish-brown on the sides ; greyish-white be- 

 neath ; feet very small, with short hairs ; tail half the length of the body 

 and head, four-sided, narrower at the base, of nearly equal breadth 

 throughout, depressed toward the end ; feet beneath, covered with short, 

 adpressed hairs, forming a pointed terminal tuft ; upper canine tooth 

 bilobate, with the lobes obtuse, the anterior little longer ; first and 

 second small molar teeth nearly equal, and level with the basal lobe of 

 the canine tooth ; third and fourth much smaller and nearly equal ; fifth 

 very small ; lower canine tooth directed forwards, with three, generally 

 faint lobes on the edge ; teeth tipped with brownish-red. 



This, our most common species, may be more fully described as having 

 the body sub-cylindrical, and rather full ; the head oblongo-conical, 

 somewhat less than a third of the length, excluding the tail, which is 

 nearly a half of the whole length, including the head; the snout long, 

 tapering, somewhat square, with a deep broad groove above, and a 

 narrow groove beneath, mobile, and projecting far beyond the jaws, with 

 the bare tip narrow and emarginatc ; the ears short, rounded, with two 

 large thin internal lobes, the upper and outer parallel to the margin ; the 

 eyes very small, convex ; the eyelids forming a narrow elliptical aperture ; 

 the feet short and small ; the anterior with the first toe much shorter than 

 the fifth, the second considerably shorter than the third and fourth, which 

 are equal and longest; the sole bare, with six tubercles and numerous small 

 prominences; the claws rather long, compressed, little arched, acrrte; 



