ATOPHVRAX BENDIRII. 2 23 



black with colorless tips, the longest reaching- a little beyond the 

 ear. Hair very dense and long, that on the back and shoulders 

 measuring 6 mm.; basal two-thirds dark plumbeous. 



Ears moderate, barely distinguishable without parting the fur; 

 auricle, without fringe of hairs, 2.5 mm., with fringe, 6 mm. Eyes 

 small but distinctly visible. MufHe rather large, deeply furrowed 

 along the median line; nostrils opening laterally. Muzzle long, 

 attenuate, depressed sub-cylindrical, protruding somewhat abruptly 

 from the very broad head.* 



Tail large, sub-quadrate for about two-thirds its length, well 

 clothed with stiff, bristle-like, appressed hairs, measuring about 

 2.50 mm. on the middle third, gradually increasing in length on 

 the terminal third, and ending in a pencil 5 mm. in length. 



Manus large and broad, measuring 4 by 11 mm.; pes long and 

 slender, 3.5 by 20 mm. Upper surfaces and sides of both feet 

 densely haired to claws, the marginal hairs stiff, elongated, and 

 turned down in such a way as to form a pronounced border on each 

 side of each foot and toe (but not fimbriated to the extent seen in 

 Ncosorcx). Soles naked to end of heel ; nearly black. Toes with 

 claws : Diaiuis, third and fourth subequal, second claw overreaching 

 base of third, fifth not reaching base of fourth, first falling short 

 of base of fifth ; pes, third and fourth subequal, second but little 

 shorter, fifth reachino^ nearlv to base of fourth, first overreaching 

 base of fifth. (Formula for toes of both manus and pes : 3=4, 



Dental Characters. — First and second unicuspids subequal, 

 largest ; third and fourth subequal, smaller ; fifth, smallest, but z'cry 

 large for a Shrciu (distinctly visible to the naked eye from both 

 sides and from below), nearly half as large as fourth, with a well- 

 developed, conical, colored cusp ; not crowded. Lower incisor 

 with two prominent denticulations, two notches, and one sinuation ; 

 its base extending beyond the canine and appearing under the an- 

 terior third of the premolar. Premolar markedly bicuspidate, the 

 anterior cusp longest and connected by an oblique, deeply notched 

 ridge with the posterior, from which another ridge is inflected 

 obliquely backward and inward, thus defining a triangular area 

 whose apex points outward. The resemblance of this tooth to the 

 anterior segment of the first true molar is striking. Tips of all 

 the teeth well colored. 



Cranial Characters. — Skull large and heavy (weighing .15 

 grammes — but only half as heavy as that of Blarina brevicaiulay 

 which, in adults, averages about .30 grammes). A broad constric- 

 tion occupies the middle fifth of the skull, extending from the base 



* This a]iparent breadth of the head is due to the length of the iiairs on its sides, the cranium 

 being narrow. 



