28 MOLES AND THEIR LIKE. 



extra bone internally to the thumb. In burrowing, most 

 of them throw up the well-known molehills at certain 

 intervals from the tunnels driven in search of worms 

 their chief food. 



In addition to these true moles, North America also 

 possesses certain other species known as shrew-moles, 

 which, while belonging to the same family (Talpidse), are 

 distinguished by the absence of the sickle-like bone in the 

 hand and the less expanded form of the bones of the upper 

 part of the fore-limb. They are thus clearly seen to be 

 less specialized creatures than our own mole, to which 

 they closely approximate in general appearance. 



Although belonging to the insectivorous order, the mole- 

 like creature represented in the accompanying figure 

 indicates a totally different family group. If we were to 

 examine the upper molar teeth of a common mole, we 

 should find that they had broad crowns, carrying cusps 

 arranged somewhat after the manner of the letter W. On 

 the other hand, in the Cape golden mole (as the animal 



FIG. 12. The Cape Golden Mole. 



here represented is termed) the corresponding teeth have 

 triangular crowns carrying three cusps arranged in a V. 



