THE SHREWS 



327 



the upper jaw (as shown in the figure) being long and generally sickle shaped, with 

 a more or less distinct cusp at the base of their hinder border ; while in the lower 

 jaw they are long and project horizontally forwards, sometimes curving upwards 

 at the tips. Moreover, with the single exception of one 

 peculiar African species, which has a rudimental seventh 

 tooth, the lower jaw of every shrew has only six teeth 

 on each side. 



The above features are sufficient to distinguish a 

 shrew from any other Insectivore ; but a few additional 

 characteristics may also be mentioned. Thus the first 



and second upper molar teeth of all the shrews differ SIDE VIEW OF THE RIGHT 

 from those of the hedgehogs and gymnuras by the ab- ANTERIOR UPPER TEETH 



.,-.., , .. m . OFTHESWIMMING-SHREW 



sence of the fifth or central cusp on the crown. Then, FRQM UNAI<ASKA ISLAND 



again, the skull of a hedgehog or gymnura, as shown (Much enlarged. The first 

 in the figure of the skeleton of the former given on p. upper incisor the tooth on the 



311, has a complete bony bar the zygomatic arch ri ht of the figure is less 



, . , , ,. , , sickle shaped than usual.) 



running below the socket for the eye to connect the upper (After Dobson ) 



jaw with the hinder part of the skull. In a shrew, on 



the other hand, this bony arch, as shown in the figure on the next page, is invari- 

 ably incomplete beneath the eye, owing to the absence of the cheek bone.* A further 

 characteristic feature of the shrews is the extreme length and narrowness of their 

 skulls. 



With the exception of a few species which have taken to an aquatic life, the 

 shrews are terrestrial and nocturnal in their habits. They are all covered with 

 fur, generally remarkable for its softness ; the head is long, with a sharply-pointed 

 snout projecting far in advance of the tip of the lower jaw ; their eyes are extremely 

 small and bead like ; and the external ears, if present at all, are rounded, and not 

 unlike the human ear in general contour. 



The shrews have a more extensive distribution than any other fam- 

 d H b't ^ y ^ I nsect i vores > an d likewise comprise a far larger number of 

 species. They are to be met with throughout the whole of the tem- 

 perate and tropical regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, as well as 

 on many of the adjacent islands ; one species extending as far north as Unalaska 

 island in the Aleutian group. ' ' From their obscure and retiring habits, ' ' writes 

 Bell, " the shrews are difficult of observation; their long and pointed snout, their 

 extensible form, and short and velvety coat enable them to pass through the closest 

 herbage, or beneath the carpets of dry leaves in the coppice and woodland, in which 

 situations, as well as in the open fields, whether cultivated or in pasture, they seek 

 their /ood. But they are not confined in their habitat to such situations, as with 

 their congeners, the water-shrews, they are often met with in marshy and fen dis- 

 tricts." On the other hand, one of the Indian shrews constantly frequents dwelling 

 houses. The number of genera (to say nothing of species) of shrews is so con- 

 siderable, that it is only possible to notice here some of the more interesting and 



*In one Indian hedgehog the zygomatic arch is incomplete. 



