CENTETID^E 



637 



Fio. 294. Left lateral view of the skull of the Tenrec (Centetes 

 ecaudatus). Reduced. 



Family CENTETID^E. 



Skull (Fig. 294) with a small cylindrical brain-case not con- 

 stricted between the orbits, no zygomatic arch or postorbital pro- 

 cess, and the 

 tympanic annu- 

 late and not 

 forming a bulla. 

 Upper molars 

 tritubercular. 

 Pubic sym- 

 physis short ; 

 and the tibia 

 and fibula either- 

 united or free. 

 No caecum. The 



penis is pendent and retractile within the fold of the integument 

 surrounding the anus ; the testes are abdominal ; the mammae are 

 thoracic and ventral; and the uterine cornua are terminated by 

 the Fallopian tubes. All the species are limited to Madagascar. 



Subfamily Centetinse. Tibia and fibula distinct ; testes near 

 kidneys ; fur with spines. 



Centetes. 1 Dentition r i f, c \, p f, m f ; total 38. Vertebrae : 

 C 7, D 19, L 5, S 3, C 8. The single species is the well-known 

 Tenrec (C. ecaudatus), characterised by the absence of a tail ; it 

 reaches a total length of from 12 to 16 inches, and is the largest 

 known Insectivore. The adult males have long canines, the 

 extremities of the lower pair being received into pits in front of 

 the upper ones (Fig. 294). It is probably the most prolific of all 

 mammals, since as many as twenty-one young are said to have been 

 brought forth at a birth. The young have strong white spines 

 arranged in longitudinal lines along the back, but these are lost in 

 the adult animal, which is provided only with a nuchal crest of 

 long rigid hairs. In rare instances a fourth upper molar may be 

 developed. 



Hemicentetes. 2 Dentition : i f , c ^, p -f , m -f ; total 40. This 

 genus is represented by the two species H. semispinosus (of which 

 the skull is shown in Fig. 295) and H. nigriceps. It differs from 

 Centetes by the presence of the third upper incisor, the much smaller 

 canines, and by the form of the skull. Both species are very much 

 smaller than C. ecaudatus, and the dorsal spines are retained in the 

 adult state. Vertebrae : C 7, D 16, L 5, S 3, C 9. 



1 Illiger, Prodromus Syst. Mamm. ct Atrium, p. 124 (1811). 

 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 72. 



Mivart, 



