Descriptions of East Asiatic Mammals 
the insect-eating mammals or insectivores 
(order insectivora) 
The separate families that compose the insectivores in Asia are 
perhaps more easily visualized than is the entire order. They are 
the Shrews, the Moles, the Hedgehogs, and the Tree-shrews. 
The Shrews and the Moles are familiar to many people. The 
Hedgehogs, unknown in America but common in the Old 
World, are typically small animals 8 or 9 inches in length, cov- 
ered with short, straight spines. Farther south, in the Asiatic 
tropics, occur dissimilar relatives of the Hedgehogs commonly 
called Gymnures, clad in hair instead of the distinctive spines. 
The Tree-shrews, also unknown in America, are poorly named 
and not shrew-like ; their appearance instead suggests squirrels, 
and their usually bushy tails, climbing habits, and activity dur- 
ing the daylight hours add to the resemblance. Furthermore, 
their relationships to other families of insectivores are excep- 
tionally remote. They are held to be most nearly allied to the 
Elephant Shrews of Africa and have been considered related 
to an extinct line of primitive animals which gave rise to the 
Primates (apes, monkeys, lemurs). 
Perhaps if the Order Insectivora were endowed with a single 
short, popular name like monkeys, whales, or bats — words that 
promptly bring distinct pictures to the minds of most people — 
its significance would be more easily grasped. 
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