THE GOLDEN MOLE 



515 



tion to ii dig!j,iiig' life is brought about in ([uite a different way 

 from that of the true Moles (Tulpa). In the latter the fore- 

 limbs are changed in position by the elongation of the manulnium 

 sterni, carrying with it tlie clavicles, wliich are extraordinarily 

 shortened (Fig. 251). In Chrysocldoris, on the other hand, the 

 same need {i.e. that the limbs project as little as possible from the 

 sides of the body, while the length of the limbs is retained, and the 

 leverage of tlie muscles unaffected) is provided for by a hollowing 



Fig. 249. — Golden Mole. Chrysochloris trevelyani. A, Lower surface of fore-foot. 

 X h. (After Giiiither. ) 



out of the walls of the tliorax, the ribs and the sternum being 

 here convex inwards. The sternum and the clavicles are not 

 modified. The tibia and fibula are ankylosed below. In the' 

 manus, moreover, there are but four digits, of which the two 

 middle ones are greatly enlarged. In the Moles there are live 

 fingers, and all are enlarged ; there is, too, a great radial sesamoid 

 bone, which is as good as a sixth fingeri (which, indeed, it is con- 

 sidered to be, in common with similar structures in other animals, 

 by some anatomists). The foot has only four toes. 



Fam. 7. Macroscelidae.' — This family contains three genera, 

 all of them African in range, and mainly Ethiopian. 



Mdci'osGclides, the Elephant Shrews, are jumping creatures of 

 Shrew-like appearance, combined with a IMarsupial look. Both 

 radius and ulna, and tibia and tiliula, are ankylosed. There 



See Peters, Iteise uach Mosainbique, 1852, for external characters and anatomy. 



