682 



S H R E W. 



are : thick fur on the sides of the muzzle, which 

 make it appear shorter and thicker than it is in 

 reality; the ears short, and completely hidden in the 

 fur ; the cranium is larger and more rounded than in 

 the common shrew, but the difference of intelligence 

 in the two has not been ascertained ; the tail is 

 straight, flat at its origin as if it were strangulated, 

 thick and rounded in the middle of its length, and 

 flattened again at the terminal part, and the fur at 

 the point forming a sort of brush ; the fur is very 

 long, and soft to the touch, black in the greater part 

 of its length, and reddish at the points ; that on the 

 throat is ash-colour, and on the belly grey. It has 

 been observed in several parts of Europe, and also in 

 the United States of America ; but it is probably 

 nothing more than a variety of the common shrew. 



THE WHITE-TOOTHED SHREW (S. Icucadon] has 

 been named from the colour of the teeth, which, 

 contrary to what appears in most of the shrews, are 

 white to the points. It has been noticed in the 

 valley of the Rhine near Strasbourg, where shrews 

 are either more numerous, or have been examined 

 with more care, than in any other part of Europe. It 

 is about the same size as the flat-tailed variety, but 

 with the tail of the same form as that of the common 

 shrew ; it is brown on the back, and white on the 

 under part; but little or nothing is known of its 

 manners, and it is in all probability merely a variety 

 of the common shrew. We have often, in the course 

 of this work, had occasion to notice the close con- 

 nexion that there is between the covering and the 

 teeth of the mammalia ; and when we find, in any 

 race, a disposition to break into varieties in the one, 

 we may expect to iind the same in the others. 



THE LINED SHUEW (S. I'meatus*) is another species 

 or variety which has been noticed in France. It is 

 of a brownish-grey colour, inclining to ash on the 

 under part of the body, and white on the throat ; 

 there are two white lines extending from the nostrils 

 to the top of the forehead, which are the foundation 

 of the name ; and there Js also a tuft of long white 

 hairs in each of the ears. It has been met with in the 

 neighbourhood of Paris, and in some other parts of 

 France, but it is rare ; and the peculiarities of its 

 manners, if they differ in any thing from those of the 

 common shrew, are not known. 



THE OARED SHREW (S. ramifer} is another which 

 has been noticed in France. It resembles the pre- 

 ceding one in some respects, but it is of larger 

 size than the generality of the shrews, being four 

 inches long in the head and body, and two and a half 

 in the tail ; the general colour of the fur on the upper 

 part is blackish-brown, that of the under brownish-ash 

 on the belly, and white on the throat, or pale ash- 

 colour with a reddish tinge ; there is sometimes a 

 spot of reddish-white on each ear, sometimes only on 

 one, and sometimes it is wanting altogether ; the tail 

 is the most peculiar part ; it is quite square in the 

 basal two-thirds of its length, with the upper and 

 lateral faces perfectly flat, and the under one with a 

 longitudinal groove or furrow ; the remaining third of 

 the tail has a keel or ridge, chiefly on the under side, 

 which makes the tail have something the appearance 

 of an oar, which is the cause of the name that has 

 been bestowed upon the animal ; the feet have also 

 long and rather stiff hairs at the sides, which, together 

 with the form of the tail, show that this animal is less 

 or more aquatic in its habits. Like most of the others, 

 however, its manners are but very little known. 



THE WATKR SHREW (S.fodieiu), is the one which 

 has been improperly confounded with the water mole. 

 It has many characters in common with the last- 

 mentioned, which is also a water shrew, but there ate 

 distinctions between them. This one is generally 

 about three inches in length, with the tail about half 

 as much. On the upper part it. is blueish brown, and 

 on the under with a trace of ash-colour or of reddish,' 

 and the colours are distinct at the line of their junc- 

 tion, and do not melt the one into the other, as in the 

 oared shrew. The outsides of the legs and the rump 

 are of the same colour as the back ; the upper lip, 

 and a little spot on the place of each eye, are whitish, 

 and there are sometimes traces of spots on the ears. 

 The paws are reddish but the toes are whitish, and 

 the incisive teeth are reddish toward the points ; the 

 tail is not unlike that of the species immediately pre- 

 ceding in its general form, but there is a white line 

 along the under face, and the hairs which make the 

 tail a swimming organ, are in proportion more pro- 

 duced. It is found along with the oared one, on the 

 margins of pools and streams, and there are some 

 accounts of combats between it and the frogs. This 

 species is pretty generally distributed in the living 

 state, and mention is also made of its fossil remains. 



THE SACRED SHREW (S. rcligiosus), is a species 

 which has some fame, or at least name, in history, as 

 it is understood to have been one of the animal gods 

 of the ancient Egyptians. Mummies of more than 

 one species have been found in the tombs at Thebes. 

 That which is considered as the true sacred shrew is 

 about the same size as the masked shrew of Europe, 

 but with the tail larger, the ears larger, and the 

 inner toe shorter. There is, however, nothing of 

 interest about the animal, except in the eyes of anti- 

 quarians ; and the Egyptians were so indiscriminate 

 in their adoration of animals, that having been a god 

 in their mythology is no great honour. 



THE CREAM-COLOCRED SHREW (S.Jiuvescens] is one 

 which is easily distinguished by the peculiar colour of 

 the upper part, which is a very pleasing shade of red- 

 dish cream-yellow, which passes gradually into bright 

 ash colour on the tail. The head and all the under 

 surface and insides of the legs are pale ash. There 

 is a conspicuous line of brown on the forehead. The 

 ears are longer than in the common shrew, but not 

 so broad in proportion. All the teeth are white for 

 their whole length, and the claws on the toes are 

 whitish. This is, among shrews, a large species as 

 well as a handsome one. The body and head mea- 

 sure fully four inches and a half in length ; but the 

 tail is shorter than in the majority. This species is 

 abundant in Southern Africa, for which reason it is 

 sometimes called the Cape shrew, though this name 

 has been given to another species, which appears to 

 be a native of India, and not of the Cape country. 

 Its manners are as little known as those of most of 

 the others. 



THE INDIAN SHREW (S. Indicus) is still larger than 

 the crearn-coloured ; but if we know enough of shrews 

 to be able to subdivide the genus, the two would fall 

 within the same subdivision. This one is nearly six 

 inches long in the head and body, and the tail is 

 about an inch and a half. The tail is not flattened in 

 any part of its length, which proves that it is a land 

 shrew, and not an aquatic one. The general colour 

 of the fur is greyish brown ; but, on the upper part 

 especially, the points of the hairs are reddish. There 

 are, however, many species in the south and the east 



