12 



F. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS ZOOLOGY GENERAL REPORT. 



Skull. The skull of this species is remarkably slender and attenuated anteriorly ; the greatest 

 width of the upper jaw being but half that of the cranium. The dental formula is 

 Anterior incisors, | ; premolars, ^ ; molars, ^ = 32. 



The upper anterior incisor is long and curved, with a distinct hooked tubercle near its base on 

 the inferior edge ; this is a miniature of the larger hook at the end of the tooth. The two suc 

 ceeding teeth are of equal size, and considerably larger than the basal tubercle just mentioned, 

 which indeed is about as large as the fourth of the lateral teeth ; the third tooth is less than the 

 fourth, itself less than the first two ; the fifth, as usual, is very small, and wedged in between 

 the fourth and the first molar. The lateral anterior teeth all overlap each other in an imbri 

 cated manner. The lower anterior incisor has two tubercles in its middle region, just anterior 

 to the next succeeding tooth, and a faint rounded notch midway between the most anterior 

 tubercle and the tip. All the teeth have the points of a dark chestnut, occupying less than 

 half of the anterior incisors. 



This species, in some respects, comes very near the Sorex fimbripes of Bachman, but may be 

 at once distinguished by the much longer tail, which is nearly one-half longer than the body, 

 instead of being decidedly shorter. In S. fimbripes the body is \\ inches, the tail If. The 

 dental formula is probably the same, as the sixth "lateral incisor" of Bachman was probably 

 the basal fang of the large anterior incisor. The hind feet are also much longer (9^ lines 

 instead of 6). The coloration appears quite similar in the two species, and both probably 

 belong to the same genus. The geographical distribution of the species is very different one 

 occurring in Washington Territory, the other in Pennsylvania. 



List of specimens. 



1 Fur between two and three lines long. The first four measurements taken before skinning. 



