THE MUSEUM 



.A Monthly Magazine Devoted to Research in Natural Science. 



Vol. IV. 



ALBION, N. Y., NOVEMBER 15, 1897. 



No. 



Some North American Mammals. 



THE SHREWS. 



The Shrews of all parts of the world 

 are ilistiiiguished by an elongated and 

 pointed niuzzle, external cars with two 

 inner lobes, formed by the development 

 of the antitagus and heli.x; feet, five 

 toed, each with a distinct claw; the fore 

 feet but a little broader, if at all than the 

 hinder; the tail variable in length. 

 They are spread over the northern 

 hemisphere, some species running very 

 far to the north, and although the 

 smallest of the known mammals, sus 

 taining the rigors of the severest win- 

 ters. Species have been found in 

 Southern and Central Africa, Asia, the 

 East Indies and the whole of Europe; 

 hitherto, the region of the Rio Grande, 

 of Texas, has proved the American 

 limit to the South, no well authenticat- 

 ed specimens having been brought 

 from South America. 



The skull of the Shrews has several 

 peculiarities. It is narrow and long, 

 much pointed anteriorily; compressed 

 at the orbits, and in some species hav- 

 ing a distinct crest along the crown. 

 The malar bone is wanting, and there 

 is no zygomatic arch. There is a deep 

 fossa on the inner side of the coronoid 

 process. 



The teeth of the shrews vary from 

 28 to 32, although some authors give 

 as many as 34 and 36. There are two 

 very large incisor teeth in each jaw, 

 directed nearly horizontally forward; 

 the upper pair much curved and form- 

 ing a hook; the lower straighter and 

 usually with the trenchant upper edge 

 more or less lobed. In the posterior 

 part of the upper jaw there are four 

 large teeth, the posterior much the 

 smallest, each with numerous points. 

 Between these and the large incisors 

 are three, four or five simple and much 



smaller teeth; the last or posterior of 

 these are usually very small. These 

 teeth are conical, and have sometimes 

 a large pointed tubercle on the inner 

 side at the base. There are three 

 multicuspid molars in the lower jaw, 

 and between these and the incisors are 

 two simple teeth. 



The snout is extended some distance 

 beyond the incisor teeth, and ends in a 

 naked muffle with the nostrils pierced 

 in the sides. The eyes are very mi- 

 nute, though usually discoverable on 

 close examination. The ears are more 

 or less distinct, except in the genus 

 Plarina, where they are entirely con- 

 cealed in the dried skin. 



The food of the shrews consists 

 chiefly of insects, worms and mollusks, 

 but they are capable of attacking and 

 destroying small vertebrates, and read- 

 ily devour each other. They are very 

 voracious, and require a large amount 

 of animal food. They are nocturnal 

 and more or less aquatic. They do 

 not hibernate, but go about in the 

 coldest weather. The young are born 

 blind and naked. 



A'losorcw Navigator, Cooper; Wat- 

 er Shrew, \'ancouver, B. C. — External 

 ears small, hidden in the fur, which 

 greatly exceeds them in length; long- 

 est hairs of the body a little over two 

 lines long; feet and hands very small 

 and broad; palms and soles, with the 

 fingers and toes margined by a fringe 

 of cilated bristles; the fore feet con- 

 tained a little more than twice in the 

 hinder, which are nearly as long as the 

 skull. Tail much longer than the 

 head and body (almost one-half long- 

 er,) with a distinct pencil at the tip; 

 third lateral tooth smaller than the 

 fourth; a very slight sub-terminal lobe 

 to the anterior upper incisors; color 

 above dark sooty brown, mixed with 



