8O INSECTIVORA : SORICID^i. 



67- Thompson's Shrew, S. Thompsonii, 



Baird, of Nova Scotia to Ohio, is two 



Thompson's Shrew, incheS lo "g tO the tall > which is O^e 



6\ Thompson^ Baird. i ncn and a quarter ; the color dark 

 olive-brown above, ashy white beneath. 



The Genus Blarina is characterized by a stout body, 

 tail shorter than the head, or nearly equal to it, and 

 coated with short bristly hairs, and with a small bunch 

 at the tip. The fore claws are longer than the hind ones, 

 external ear and auditory opening invisible, the skull 

 short and broad, anterior upper incisors with the points 

 simple, and the teeth rarely in contact. 



The Mole Shrew, B. talpoides, Gray, of Nova Scotia to 

 Georgia, is three and a half inches long to the tail, which 

 is one inch ; the color dark ashy-gray. 



The Genus Mygale comprises the Desmans, which 

 differ from the Shrews in having two very small teeth 

 between the two great incisors of the lower jaw, and in 

 their two upper triangular and flattened incisors. The 

 muzzle extends into a long and flexible proboscis ; their 

 feet are webbed, and they are aquatic in their habits. 

 They inhabit Southern Russia, and one species is found 

 about the streams of the Pyrenees. 



TALPID^E, OR MOLE FAMILY. This family is charac- 

 terized by a stout thick body, with no visible neck or 

 external ears, very short limbs, greatly expanded fore-feet, 

 and strong fossorial claws. The tail is usually short, 

 sometimes nearly as long as the body ; the fur is soft, 

 compact, and velvet-like. Moles are found all over the 

 world except in the inter-tropical regions ; each country, 

 however, has its characteristic genus or genera. 



The Genus Scalops is distinguished by a long, de- 

 pressed muzzle, nostrils at the extremity, and either 

 superior or lateral, hidden eyes, short tail, toes more or 

 less webbed to the claws, teeth thirty-six to forty-four, 

 and the two anterior upper ones very large. 



