THE TYPICAL SHREWS 



329 



to kill, although they will not eat these animals. Dr. Dobson considers, however, 

 that the real cause of death is rather to be attributed to insufficiency of their proper 

 food at that season of the year ; and this interpretation is supported by the considera- 

 tion that it would be otherwise difficult to account for the mortality being confined 

 to one period of the year. Shrews hibernate in Europe throughout the winter, and 

 during the spring and summer produce their litters of blind and toothless young ; 

 the number in each litter being usually five, six, or seven, but occasionally more. 



In Ireland the place of the common shrew is taken by the lesser 

 shrew (S. pygmezus), which although also found in England, is there 

 much more rare. It may be distinguished by its inferior size, and also by the cir- 

 cumstance that the third tooth from the extremity of the upper jaw (the third 

 incisor) is not longer than the fourth. L,ike its larger cousin, this species has an 



Lesser Shrew 



THE SPIDER MUSK-SHREW AND COMMON SHREW 

 (Natural size.) 



extensive range in Europe and Asia north of the Himalayas, but does not extend 

 across Behring Strait into America. 



In marked contrast to the wide range of these species is the 

 restricted distribution of the Alpine shrew (S. Alpinus], a species of 

 rather larger size than the common shrew, and distinguished by the uniform colora- 

 tion of the upper and under surfaces of the body. This shrew is only found in the 

 mountains of Central Europe. 



A variation in size comparable to that existing among the European 



members of the genus is likewise found in its North American repre- 

 can Shrews . 



sentatives, among which Bendire's shrew (S. bendtrei) is the largest, 



and Cooper's shrew (S. cooperi) the smallest form. Of the latter Dr. Hart Merriam 



