MAMMALIAN GALLERY. 



[Case 27.] of species, all strikingly alike externally, but differing among them- 

 selves in the structure of their skulls and teeth. They are long- 

 nosed, short-tailed animals, with rudimentary eyes, soft velvety 

 fur, of such a structure as to lie equally well in either direction, 

 thus enabling the Mole to move freely in its burrows either back- 

 wards or forwards, and with short, broadened, spade-like fore feet, 

 the toes being strong and all of nearly the same length (see 

 fig. 10, A). With these highly efficient instruments the Mole is 

 able to force the earth aside and throw it backwards while ikis 

 burrowing in the ground. 



The Shrews (Soricida) form a family containing a very large 

 number of mouse-like animals, differing from each other mainly by 

 slight variations in their teeth, but all presenting very much the 

 same external appearance. The great majority are terrestrial in their 

 habits (as, for example, the English Common and Pygmy Shrews), 

 burrowing on or close to the surface of the ground, and living on 

 small beetles, worms, or any other animal food they can obtain. 

 The large Indian Shrews, provided with scent-glands, by which a 

 substance of a most penetrating odour is secreted. Others live 

 in ponds and streams, feeding on water-beetles and crustaceans, 

 for which they swim and dive with great facility. To this group 

 belongs our common Water-Shrew (Crossopus fodiens) , a beautiful 

 velvet-coated animal with a long tail, and with its feet, like those of 

 the Myogales, provided with lateral swimming-bristles. 



The family of Tanrecs (Centetidce) is confined to Madagascar, 

 and consists of about half a dozen species the spiny Tanrecs, 

 or Ground-Hogs (Centetes) (among the largest of the Order), 

 and the striped Tanrecs (Hemicentetes). 



To these is closely allied the rare Potamogale velox, a native 

 of West Africa. In its habits it resembles the Otters, living almost 

 entirely in the water, and feeding on small fishes, crustaceans, and 

 water-beetles. 



The last family is that of the Golden Moles (Chrysochlorida), 

 natives of South Africa, which are very like our European Moles in 

 their general shape, but are distinguished, among other points, by 

 the entirely different form of their anterior digging limbs, which 

 are narrow, and each provided with an enormous central claw, the 

 outer toes being quite small (see fig. 10, B) . There are five species 



