INSECTIVORA. 



Fig. 375. Insectivora. Skull of 

 the common Hedgehog (Erinaceus 

 Europceus). 



does not become well represented till we reach the Miocene 

 period. 



The three leading families of the Insectivora are the Talpidce 

 or Moles, the Soricidcz or Shrew- 

 mice, and fasErinaceida or Hedge- 

 hogs. 



Fam. i. Talpidce. The body in 

 this family is covered with hair ; 

 the feet are formed for digging and 

 burrowing, and the toes are fur- 

 nished with strong curved claws. 



The earliest remains of Talpidce 

 appear for the first time in the 

 Miocene Tertiary ; but they are of 

 little importance. The common Mole (Talpa Europcea) occurs 

 in Post-Pliocene deposits in Britain and on the Continent. 

 Several genera (Dimylus^ Palceospalax, Geotrypus, &c.)~ have 

 been founded upon remains of Mole-like animals from the 

 Miocene and later Tertiary deposits. 



Fam. 2. Soricidcz. The Soricidce or Shrew-mice are distin- 

 guished by having the body covered with hair, and the feet 

 not adapted for digging ; whilst there are external ears, and 

 the eyes are well developed. Of all the Insectivora, no divi- 

 sion is more abundant or more widely distributed than that of 

 the Shrew-mice. In general form and appearance the Shrews 

 very closely resemble the true Mice (Muridce) and the Dor- 

 mice (Myoxidcz), but they are in reality widely different, and 

 must not be confounded with them. 



Remains of Shrews (belonging to the genera Sorex, Mysa- 

 rachne, and Plesiosorex) have been discovered in the Miocene 

 deposits of Europe. Several existing species (such as Sorex 

 araneus and S. fodiens] occur in Post-Tertiary cave-deposits 

 and ossiferous breccias. Lastly, the Desmans (Mygale) are 

 represented from the Miocene Tertiary onwards. 



Fam. 3. Erinaceidcz. The last family of the Insectivora is 

 that of the Hedgehogs, characterised by the fact that the upper 

 part of the body is covered with prickly spines, the feet are 

 not adapted for digging, and the animal has mostly the power 

 of rolling itself into a ball at the approach of danger. 



Several species of Hedgehog have been found in the fossil 

 state, commencing in the Miocene Tertiary. The Erinaceus 

 fossilis of the Post-Tertiary period, does not appear to be 

 separable from the common species (Erinaceus Europczus}. 



