THE SOLENODONS 347 



The little animals known as hedgehog-tenrecs, are so like small 

 . e * ge hedgehogs in general appearance that they might be readily taken for 

 members of the same family. L,ike hedgehogs, they have the whole 

 of the upper surface and sides of the body covered with short, parti-colored bristles; 

 and they are also furnished with a short tail. Of more importance as a generic 

 characteristic, is the circumstance that there are only two incisor teeth on each side 

 of both the upper and lower jaws. Although it is probable that these animals can 

 to a certain extent roll themselves up into a ball, yet from the feeble development of 

 the layer of muscle beneath the skin, Dr. Dobson is of opinion that this cannot be 

 done so completely as in the case of the hedgehogs. Since it cannot be considered 

 that the hedgehog-tenrecs are in any way nearly related to the hedgehogs, it is 

 somewhat remarkable that both should have developed such exactly similar spines, 

 which are used for defensive purposes in the same manner. The common hedge- 

 hog-tenrec (Ericulus setosus} is about two-thirds the size of the European hedgehog, 

 and has thirty-six teeth. Telfair's hedgehog- tenrec (E. telfairi} is considerably 

 smaller, with only thirty-four teeth, owing to the absence of the first pair of pre- 

 molars in the upper jaw. 



Two small mouse-like animals from Madagascar, each having forty 



S ~ teeth, are distinguished from all the preceding members of the family 



c 



Tenrecs ^Y t ^ ie aDSence * spines mingled with the fur, and also by the great 



length of the tail. In one of the species (Microgale longicaudata] the 



length of the tail is double that of the head and body a proportion only equaled 



among the pangolins. Of the 40 teeth, f are incisors, \ canines, and f cheek-teeth 



on either side. 



The last members of the Centetidce are the two small mole-like 



" animals known as rice-tenrecs, distinguished by the extreme shortness 



of their tails, and likewise by their burrowing habits. The four-toed 



rice- tenrec (Oryzorictes tetradactyla) is peculiar in having but four toes on the fore- 



feet, of which the three innermost ones are armed with powerful claws for digging. 



The second species ((9. hova) has five front toes, but both agree in having long, 



trunk-like snouts. These animals are a great pest to the agriculturists of Mada- 



gascar, owing to the damage they inflict on the rice crops by burrowing in the earth 



beneath the young plants in search of worms and insects. 



THE SOLENODONS 



Family SOLENODONTID^E 



Strange as it may seem that the nearest relatives of the tenrecs of Madagascar 

 should be found in a region so far removed from that island as the West Indies, yet 

 it appears that the two solenodons really occupy this position ; although in the form 

 of the incisor, canine, and premolar teeth, they approximate very closely to the des- 

 mans (p. 337). 



