548 SORICIDAE. SORICINZE, 
are not especially differentiated, so that it is difficult to tell one 
from the other. The molars have numerous sharp cusps arranged 
in a V or W-shaped pattern, and the crowns may be either quad- 
rangular or triangular. The incisors are always four in the mandible 
and the innermost pair is often larger than the canines. The toes 
are furnished with claws, and are usually five on each foot, with the 
thumb and great toe not opposable to the other digits. The greater 
portion of the sole of the foot is placed upon the ground, and they 
never walk upon the toes. The upper surface of the brain is smooth, 
and the testes are situated near the kidneys and are not placed in a 
scrotum. Only three families of the Order come within the scope 
of this work, the Soricip# or Shrews, TALPIp& or Moles, and the 
SOLENODONTID& or Solenodons, of which last but two species are 
known, the curious Almigut of Cuba, and the Agouwta of Haiti. 
The largest family of the Insectivora is the Soricip#®, which 
comprises over half the known species. The body is hairy, the nose 
is long and overhangs the mouth, and the animals are very mouse- 
like in appearance, while some of the species are among the smallest 
of the Mammalia. Shrews are very widely distributed in both 
Hemispheres, and possess a very uniform structure. These little 
animals live chiefly in the forests, and are also found in marshy 
places, sometimes in cultivated fields. They do not confine themselves 
by any means to an insectivorous diet, but devour worms, small 
birds, or any scraps of meat that fallin their way. Their own bodies 
are rejected as food by other quadrupeds, the secretions from their 
glands making them too offensive. American Shrews have been 
divided into several genera, two of which, NEosoREX and ATOPHYRAX, 
contain species that are aquatic in their habits. 
Fam. |. Soricidz. Shrews. 
Skull: long, narrow; no zygomatic arches, nor postorbital pro- 
cesses; tympanic not forming a bulla. Upper molar cusps with pat- 
tern like a W;; first upper incisor large and hook-like with basal cusp 
on posterior border; no caecum; pubic arch closed; tibia and fibula 
united. Nose long, overhanging the mouth. 
Subfam. I. Soricine. 
Summits of teeth colored red. 
Sorex is the largest genus of the family, and is very numerously 
represented in North America, the species ranging from northern 
Alaska and Hudson Bay south into Mexico. Many of the named 
forms have a very close resemblance to each other, and probably too 
