440 THE DAESMAN, OR DESMAN. 
The teeth of the Agouta are very remarkable, both for their arrangement and their 
form, but are very difficult to describe. The two middle incisors of the upper jaw are 
extremely large, almost triangular in form, and are separated from the small lateral incisors 
by a considerable interval. The most singular part of the dentition is, however, found in 
the incisors of the lower jaw, of which Van der Hoeven speaks as follows :—* The two 
middle incisors of the lower jaw are small, narrow, placed between two long conical, 
hollowed onthe inside by a deep groove; the second grooved incisor of the lower jaw 
distinguishes this genus from all the others of which the dental system is known hitherto.” 
— Handbook of Zoology, vol. 1. p. 727 
The dentition of the Agouta would seem to indicate that the creature was insectivorous 
in its diet, but Mr. Hearne, who possessed one of these animals in a living state, remarks 
that its food is chiefly grain, although it is also capable of eating animal food. In 
general appearance the Agouta somewhat resembles the barn-rat of England, and might 
easily be mistaken for that animal if seen while in motion, and for a short time only. 
There is supposed to be but one species of this curious genus. The generic name, 
Solenodon, is of Greek origin, and signifies channel-toothed. 
ALTHOUGH the water shrew has earned for itself its aquatic title, it is not nearly so 
constant an inhabitant of the water as the DAESMAN or DESMAN, an animal whose very 
form is sufficient to stamp it as a creature that lives almost exclusively in the water. A 
casual glance at the external formation of the Daesman will at once pronounce the animal 
to be made for swimming and diving, and its admirable adaptation for aquatic evolutions 
is more evident as the structure of the creature is more closely examined. 
The legs and feet, which in the aquatic shrews are provided with rows of stiff bristles, 
in order to assist the animal in its progress through the water, are in the Daesman 
entirely modified into oars; the powers of terrestrial movements being subservient to 
those of aquatic locomotion. The toes are connected with each other by well defined 
webs, and the greater portion of the legs are concealed under the skin. The tail is 
modified for the same purpose, and is evidently used as a rudder by which the creature 
may direct its course. 
The most remarkable point in the appearance of the Daesman is its extraordinarily 
elongated nose, which bears no slight resemblance to the proboscis of an elephant, and, 
indeed, is quite as valuable to its possessor. This prolonged nose is extremely mobile, 
and can be applied to various purposes: one object of the elongated nose is extremely 
singular, and deserves special notice. 
The habitation im which the Daesman lives is a most complicated house, the entrance 
to which is under the surface of the water, so that the creature may escape into its 
stronghold whenever it has cause to fear danger. The subterraneous tunnel in which the 
creature lives extends for a considerable distance around the starting point, and often 
embraces an extent of more than twenty feet in its various windings. As the animal 
does not become torpid during the winter, it needs a plentiful supply of food and aut. 
The former necessary can be obtained easily enough, but as the inclement frost of its 
native country covers the surface of the water with a thick coat of ice, and at the 
same time binds the earth in an icy chain, the poor Daesman is often sadly harassed for 
want of air, as it cannot find exit from its burrow, and there is no other mode of getting 
into the fresh atmosphere. 
In this strait the long and flexible nose of the Daesman stands it in good stead ; for 
it runs about its burrow in search of any little fissures which may communicate with the 
open air, and by thrusting the mobile organ into any such fortunate crevice, is enabled 
to obtain sufficient air to sustain the vital powers. Should the winter be a particularly 
severe one, many Daesmans are killed by the insufficiency of ventilation in their houses, 
and are found in the spring lying dead in their burrows. 
It is very seldom that a Daesman is seen upon dry ground, and even at the hymeneal 
season, which makes all animals courageous, it is never seen at any distance from the 
water, and contents itself with running along the extreme edge of the water, or making 
temporary resting-places in the heavy leafage of aquatic plants. Even these trifling 
