CHAPTER II 

 THE FOOD OF ANIMALS INSECT-EATING MAMMALS 



Two orders of Mammals include animals which feed chiefly 

 on insects, i.e. the Insect- Eaters proper (Insectivora) and Bats 

 (Cheiroptera). 



INSECT-EATERS PROPER (INSECTIVORA) 



The Insectivores, or Insect- Eaters proper, are Mammals of 

 small or even diminutive size, which abound in all parts of the 

 world except South America and the Australian region, and are 

 adapted for preying upon insects, worms, snails, &c., while the 

 larger species also attack small vertebrates such as frogs and 

 mice. Since food of suitable kind is to be found not only upon 

 the ground, but also within it and among the trees above it, as 

 also in the waters of the land, we might expect to find, as among 

 the Carnivores, burrowing, climbing, and aquatic species, in addi- 

 tion to forms which run or spring, and this is actually the case. 



As becomes Mammals of small size, pursuing prey of corre- 

 sponding dimensions, the Insectivores are creatures of lowly 

 organization, and their intelligence is small as compared to that 

 of such highly specialized forms as the Carnivores. Their prey 

 being for the most part very active, it 

 is not surprising that they also, as a 

 rule, possess the power of rapid move- 

 ment, and, since they hunt mostly by 

 smell and sight, their pointed heads 

 are often produced into a long sensi- 

 tive snout provided with tactile hairS, Fig. 323 .-Skull of an Insect-eating Mammal 

 I*., .1 . . (Hedgehog) 



and bearing the nostrils at its tip. 



On the other hand, both eyes and ears are often small, and some- 

 times extremely so. Most of the species do their hunting at night. 

 The numerous teeth (fig. 323) differ strikingly in character from 



31 



