NO. 1101. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 41 



nection that he did not obtain specimens of Seba's Talpa, Virghiianns, 

 nU/er, wliicli, of conrse, was quite natural, as that species is really 

 Talpa curopa'a. 



Pennant's "Yellow Mole"' became Talpa euro2)a:a flavescens at the 

 hands of Erxleben,- Avho merely translated the Enf^lish description into 

 Latin, but adds Seba's Talpa, Virrjinianus,nif/cr, with aninterrog-atioii, 

 as a synonym. 



Schrebcr mentions Pennant's "Yellow Mole" under the name of 

 "Der geibe Maulwurf/' but does not give it a Latin desiiiiiation. He 

 also includes in his summary "Der rotlie Maulwurf," which is Seba's 

 "Talpa, rubra, Americana."^' Under the genus tSorex he has "Der 

 Weiss-schwanz. Tab. OLVIII. ISorex aquaUcus Liun.," citing- Seba's 

 ^^T((lp'(, Virginiani(s,niger,^^ and Pennant's "P)rown Mole," as synonyms.^ 



Gmeliu cites Pennant's "Yellow Mole," and gives to the form tbe 

 name of Talpa europmi flara? In 1792 Kerr shortened this name to 

 Talpa jiara!' 



Shaw, whose "General Zoology" appeared in 1800, has two American 

 species of moles, besides those referable to Comlylura cristata. These 

 are the "Purple Mole" and the "Brown Mole." The "Purple Mole, 

 Talpa pn rpurasvens,''^ is based on Seba's Talpa, Viyf/iniaiiHfi, niger, and is 

 therefore equivalent to Talpa cnropwa (see p. 40).' The "Brown Mole, 

 Talpa fi(sic((,''''" like Kerr's species of the same name, is based on Pen- 

 nant's "Brown Mole," which, as already stated, is equivalent to Lin- 

 iiiTeus's Sorex aquaticus. Shaw employs this last as a synonym, with a 

 mark of interrogation, and says : 



If this species be tbe same with the Sorex aquaticus of Linnanis, it has, aceordiug 

 to that author, webbed fore feet, and, from its name, shoukl seem to inhabit watery 

 phices; but neither of these circumstances ai-e mentioned by Mr. Pennant. 



In 1820 Desmarest introduced the name Scalops canadensis for our 

 species,^ though for what reason does not appear, unless employed as a 

 translation of Cuvier's " Scalope du Canada." "' In this he was followed 

 by Godman in 1831.1' 



Harlan's Seal ops pennsylvanica^'^ appears to be the present species. 

 This form was supposed by Harlan to differ from Scalops aquaticus in 



'Quadrupeds. 1771, p. 312 (fide Baird) ; ditto. 3d ed., II, 1793, p. 230. Really given 

 as a variety of the European mole. 



- Syst. Kegn. Anim., 1777, p. 118. 



^Siiugethiere, III, 1778, pp. 559 and .561. 



•■Loc. cit., ji. 566. 



fiGmelin, Linn. Syst. Nat., 13th ed., 1788, p. 110. 



*^^Kerr, Anim. Kingdom, 1792, p. 201. 



'Shaw, Gen. Zool., I, pt. 1, Mam., 1800. p. 521. 



''Loc. cit., p. .524. 



"Mammalogie, pt. 1, 1820, p. 155. 

 '"Rt-gne Anim., 1st ed., I, 1817, p. 135. 

 'lAmer. Nat. Hist., I, 1831, p. 84. 

 ''^ Fauna Americana, 1825, p. 33. 



