CHAPTER XII 

 MOLES, SHREWS AND BATS 



UNDER this caption might be written a long 

 list of American insectivores, animals which 

 are to be thought of not merely as feeding upon 

 insects, but as belonging to the Order In- 

 sectivora. This order is a group of small, 

 slender, plantigrade animals, having fine sharp 

 teeth and digestive organs especially suited to 

 a diet of worms and insects. They are found 

 .all over the world, except in South America and 

 Australasia; and are of particular interest to 

 the zoologist because much evidence allies them 

 with the earliest known type of mammal, so 

 that the insectivores seem to represent, with 

 little alteration, the most ancient mammalian 

 stock. They are most nearly related to the 

 lemurs and the bats. 



The moles under the laicn. Our insecti- 

 vores are all small and inconspicuous, and pop- 

 ular interest is attached only to the moles 

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