KEY TO THE PRINCIPAL GENERA AND SPECIES OF 

 CARNIVORES, INSECTIVORES AND SIMILAR MAMMALS 



L Mammal almost as large as a house cat, with the body completely en- 

 closed in a bony ''shell"; no incisor or canine teeth and with a row of 

 unspecialized teeth along each side of each jaw; Texas; Family 

 Dasypodidae (An Edentate) 



Dasypus novemcinctus texanus (Bailey) Armadillo 

 Mammal not so enclosed; with incisors and canines 2. 



2. Canine teeth not noticeably longer than, nor much different from, the 



others; snout long and pointed, with the upper lip projecting beyond 



the low-er; not more than ten inches long Moles and Shrews (Insecti- 



vores) 3. 



Canine teeth considerably longer than the others; si^e various 29. 



3. Front feet very large and wide; no external ears; total length (including 



tail) from five to ten inches; Family Talpidae Moles 4. 



Front feet not extremely large; ears present, although sometimes almost 



hidden in the fur; total length usually less than five inches; resembling 



a mouse but with a much more pointed snout; Family Soncidac Shrews 



10. 



4. End of snout surrounded by a disc of twenty-two hairless, fleshy projec- 



tions; northeastern and east-central states 



Condylura cnstata (Linn.) Star-nosed Mole 

 No such disc at end of snout 5. 



5. Palms broader than long; toes webbed; east of the Rockies 



Scalopus aquaticus (Linn.) Eastern Mole 

 (A number of subspecies) 

 Palms as long as or longer than broad; toes not webbed 6. 



6. Total length of adult four and one-half to five inches; tail about one- 



third of total length; palms longer than broad; Pacific states 

 Tsjeitrotrichits gibbsn (Baird) Shrew Mole 

 Total length six to nine inches; tail one-fourth to one-fifth of total length; 

 palms about as broad as long 7. 



7. Nostrils opening on sides of snout; tail well haired; eastern and east- 



central states 



Parascalops hreweri (Bachman) Hairy-tailed Mole 

 Nostrils opening on top of snout; tail scarcely haired; west of Rockies 



8. 



8. Unicuspid teeth (cheek teeth having one point) not evenly spaced, 



crowded; fur brown or gray; Cal. into Nev. and Oregon 

 Scapanus latimanus (Bachman) California Mole 

 Unicuspid teeth evenly spaced, not crowded; fur dark, usually almost 

 black; from northern Cal. northward 9. 



9. Length eight to nine inches; sides of cranium decidedly angular 



Scapanus townsendii (Bachman) Oregon Mole 

 Length (including tail) six to seven inches: sides of cranium rounded 

 Scapanus orarius True Coast Mole 



491 



