404 THE MECHANICAL FUNCTIONS. 



§ 9. Insect Ivor a. 



In the tribe of Insectivorous quadrupeds we meet 

 with several races which present singular confor- 

 mations. In none are these anomalies more re- 

 markable than in the Mole, an animal which 

 nature has formed for subterranean residence, and 

 whose limbs are constructed with a view to the 

 rapid excavation of passages under ground. The 

 hands of the mole, for its fore paws almost deserve 

 that appellation, are turned upwards and back- 

 wards for scooping the soil, while the feet are em- 

 ployed to throw it out with great quickness. These 

 mining operations are aided by the motions of the 

 head, which is lifted with great power, so as to 

 loosen the ground above, and overcome the resist- 

 ances that may be opposed to the progress of the 

 animal. That no impediment might be offered to 

 these motions of the head, the spinous processes of 

 the cervical vertebrae have not been suffered to 

 extend upwards. Large muscles are provided for 

 bending the head backwards upon the neck ; and 

 they are assisted by a cervical ligament of great 

 strength, which is generally in part ossified. The 

 muscles of the fore extremities are also of extraor- 

 dinary power. The scapula is a long and slender 

 bone, more resembling a humerus in its shape than 

 an ordinary scapula : the humerus, on the con- 

 trary, is thick and square, and the clavicle is short 

 and broad. The radius and the ulna are distinct 

 from each other ; the hand is very large and ex- 

 panded; the palms being turned outwards and 

 backwards, and its lower margin being fashioned 



