352 SKULL AND TEETH. 
interspersed; the short fur is bluish-gray at the 
base, the ends of the hairs being tipped with red- 
dish-brown; the bristles are black, and when 
smooth give a lustrous appearance to the fur. 
The eyes are very small, and placed about mid- 
way between the nose and the ear. The whis- 
kers, stiff and bristly, are much longer than the 
head, and dark grey. The ears are covered on 
both sides with fine soft hair, rounded and very 
short, and not unlike the human ear. 
Skull.—The skull is much like that of the 
squirrel’s, with the marked exception of having 
rootless molars, and the absence of post-orbital 
processes; the occipital crest is well-developed, 
the muzzle large, and nearly round. The bony 
orbits are largely developed; the auditory bull 
are small, but open at once into wide auditive 
tubes; the first molar is unusually small, oval, 
and situated against the antero-internal angle of 
the second. All the molars are rootless: the 
lower grinders are much like the upper, but 
somewhat longer and narrower. The molars in 
both jaws are situated much farther back than is 
usual, the centre of the skull being about oppo- 
site to the meeting of the second and third. The 
lower jaw is very singularly shaped, the inner 
edges of the molars on opposite sides being 
