THE BATS AND INSECT-EATING MAMMALS 171 



Photo by A, S. Rudland & Soni 



COMMON MOLE 



Note that tAis mole is changing its coat 



*; W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] 



COMMON MOLE 



The skeleton is here revealed by the RSntgen rays 



[Crtjdon 



America form a group distinct from those of the Old World, though closely allied thereto. 

 The WEB-FOOTED and the STAR-NOSED MOLES are the most interesting of the American forms. 



Speaking of the prodigious speed with which these animals burrow their way through the 

 ground, Dr. Hart Merriam remarks that in a single night, after rain, they have been known to 

 make a gallery several yards in length, and that he had himself traced a fresh tunnel for nearly a 

 hundred yards. As he says, we can only appreciate the magnitude of this labour by comparison, 

 and " computation shows that, in order to perform equivalent work, a man would have to exca- 

 vate in a single night a tunnel thirty-seven miles long, and of sufficient size to easily admit of the 

 passage of his body." 



The star-nosed mole is peculiar in that its nose is surrounded by a ring of finger-like proc- 

 esses, forming a kind of rosette, which probably acts as a highly sensitive organ of touch ; 

 furthermore, it differs from other moles in the great length of its tail, which is nearly as long as 

 its body. Like the mole, this species makes its way through the ground with great speed. 



Beneficial as moles undoubtedly are in destroying worms and obnoxious insects, yet they 

 .are regarded as a pest both by the farmer and gardener. That there is some justification for this 

 dislike must be admitted ; for the farmer suffers in that, in the search for food, crops are damaged 

 by cutting through the roots of plants the gardener not only for the same reason, but also 

 because the ridges and hillocks which they make in their course disfigure the paths and beds of 

 a well-kept garden. 



The nearest allies of the moles are the curious aquatic DESMANS of Russia, and the SHREWS. 



:some of which are 

 form, owing to their 

 .similar mode of 

 The BURROW- 

 the only forms in the 

 have assumed a 

 allied to the hedge- 

 is a remarkable 

 the GOLDEN MOLE. 

 of the body of this 

 instance of adapta- 

 mode of life. The 

 golden mole is 

 claws, which are 

 purposes ; the hand 

 out spade-like, as in 

 the claws rendering 



Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons 



GOLDEN MOLE 



TAis is found only in South Africa. The name is deri-ved from the -wonderful 

 metallic lustre of the fur : the brilliancy of the hues is intensified by immersion 

 in spirit 



quite mole-like in 

 having adopted a 

 life. 



ING SHREWS are not 

 great group which 

 mole-like shape, for 

 hog-like TENRECS 

 animal known as 

 The mole-like shape 

 animal is another 

 tion to a similar 

 fore limb of the 

 provided with huge 

 used for digging 

 is not broadened 

 the common mole, 

 this unnecessary. 



