134 ' COMMON MOLE. 



and structure these animals are intelligibly adapted 

 to their peculiar mode of life ; their short, exceed- 

 ingly strong anterior limbs, broad and firm feet, and 

 powerful claws ; their pointed muzzle, of which the 

 extremity, or nose, is possessed of great mobility -, 

 and the cylindrical form of their body, enabling 

 them to make their way under ground with unri- 

 valled facility. 



The species which is found in Britain may be 

 described as follows : The body is rather long, 

 nearly cylindrical, rounded behind ; the neck ex- 

 tremely short, so that the head seems immersed 

 between the shoulders; the snout elongated and 

 depressed, with a groove along its upper and lower 

 surfaces, its extremity narrow but abrupt ; the 

 nostrils terminal and approximate ; the eye mi- 

 nute, in the centre of a bare space about the 

 twelfth of an inch in diameter, the eyelids opening 

 to a very small extent ; the external ears obsolete. 

 The limbs are very short; the anterior feet ex- 

 tremely broad, with the palm directed outwards or 

 backwards ; five toes, with an internal rudimentary 

 toe or appendage, consisting of a single bone, and 

 apparently serving to broaden the part for digging; 

 the first and fifth toes nearly equal, the third longest, 

 the fourth next, the second slightly shorter than the 

 fourth ; the upper surface almost destitute of hairs, 

 the lower bare and wrinkled ; the claws straight, 

 depressed, thin, and rounded at the end, a little 

 concave beneath, and having at the base a fixed 

 sheath. On the hind feet, which are rather 



