Descriptions of East Asiatic Mammals 45 
whitish hairs. The White-tailed Mole must sometimes leave its 
tunnels, because in northern Burma one was trapped under a log. 
The Musk Mole, Scaptochirus moschatus, is about the size 
of the European Mole, the head and body measuring 5% inches ; 
but its tail is shorter, % inch. The hands are even broader and 
stronger than those of the Common Mole. The color of the fur 
is grayish brown with a yellowish wash. This animal has one 
less premolar in both upper and lower jaws than Talpa. The 
Musk Mole is found in Siberia, and in northeastern China in the 
provinces Hopei, Jehol, and Shantung. A closely allied race, 
S. m. gilliesi, known from Shansi, is smaller than moschatus. 
SUBFAMILY SCALOPIN^ 
This third subfamily of Moles is represented in the Orient 
only by the genus Scapanulus, the name meaning "little Sca~ 
panus," which latter is an American genus. It was not discovered 
in Asia until 1912. The family is distinguished by its enlarged 
incisors and reduced canine in the upper jaw. 
Owen's Mole, Scapanulus oweni, which has only 36 teeth, is 
drab gray above, with silvery reflections in certain lights. The 
stout tail is densely clothed with rather long black hairs, the tip 
paler. The length of the head and body is as much as 5 inches, 
the tail 1% inches, the hind foot % inch. This Mole is known 
from Kansu, Shensi, and Szechwan, where it is reported to live 
in fir forests. 
THE SHREWS (FAMILY SORICID^e) 
Some of the world's smallest mammals belong in this family. 
Sor ex ussuriensis of Siberia and its relatives are even smaller 
than Hoy's Shrew, Micros or ex hoyi, the smallest American 
mammal. On the other hand, some of the tropical species, espe- 
cially those of the genus Suncus, become as large as a small rat. 
