342 



THE INSECTIVORES 



Distribution 



variation as regards the relative length of the tail. Thus, whereas in the European 

 mole the length of the head and body is about five inches and that of the tail one 

 inch, in the Himalayan short-tailed mole ( T, micrura) the naked tail is less than a 

 quarter of an inch in length, and is completely concealed among the fur of the body. 

 The European mole is remarkable for its wide geographical dis- 

 tribution, ranging from England in the west, through Asia north of 

 the Himalayas to Japan, and extending northward as far as the Altai mountains. 

 L,ike its cousin, the common shrew, it is, however, unknown in Ireland. The 

 "runs" of the European mole are very similar to those of the American moles 

 already referred to, but the central chamber, or dwelling place, is of a more com- 

 plex structure. As this dwelling place will be found described in detail in almost 



THE COMMON MOLE. 

 (Two-thirds natural size.) 



all works treating of the mole, it will suffice to mention here that it is usually placed 

 near a hillock, or between two trees, and is composed of a central chamber with 

 passages conducting to two circular galleries placed one above another. The higher 

 of these two galleries has a smaller diameter than the lower one. From the larger 

 lower gallery there are given off several diverging runs, one of which is larger than 

 either of the others, and is known as the main run, being the one which alone leads 

 to the burrows driven in various directions for the purpose of procuring food. These 

 burrows, or runs, except when so close to the surface as to allow of the earth being 

 raised directly upwards in the form of a ridge showing their course, are marked at 

 intervals by the well-known "molehills," which are mounds of loose earth pushed 

 up from below, and not containing any internal chamber or passages. 



