NORTH AMERICA AND THE 

 WEST INDIES 



Order INSECTIVORA: Moles, Shrews, and Their Relatives 



T NSECTIVORES are primitive mammals of moderate or 

 1 small size, with long pointed muzzles and sharp-cusped 

 chewing teeth. They feed chiefly on insects and other inverte- 

 brates, but some prey on small mammals or fish. The New 

 World insectivores belong to the suborder Lipotyphla and 

 include two groups differing in important dental characters. 



The archaic insectivores, with V-shaped molar teeth, are 

 represented in the West Indies by two families; all are either 

 extinct or threatened with extinction: 



(1) Nesophontidae, five primitive species from the islands of 

 Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Cuba. These are extinct, so far as 

 known. 



(2) Solenodontidae, two species of long-snouted heavy -bodied 

 insectivores, found in the islands of Haiti and Cuba. 



The more modern insectivores, with W-shaped molar teeth, 

 are represented by two families, both of which are widely 

 distributed in the Old World and North America, but only one 

 extends into Central or South America: 



(3) Talpidae, moles. None of these are discussed here. 



(4) Soricidae, shrews. A single species is considered to be 

 in danger of extinction because of rarity. J. E. H. 



Family NESOPHONTIDAE: Extinct Antillean Insectivores 



NESOPHONTES EDITHAE Anthony 

 Nesophontes edithae Anthony, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 35, p. 725, 1916 



("Cueva Catedral, near Morovis, Porto Rico"). 

 FIGS.: Anthony, H. E., 1916, pi. 23 (cranium); 1918, pp. 366-375, figs. 17-23 (skull 



and larger bones). 



Our first knowledge of this remarkable genus and species is 

 due to Dr. H. E. Anthony, who, during his investigation of cave 

 deposits in Puerto Rico, brought to light abundant remains of 



5 



