.'l 



WATER SHREW. 155 



of Crossopus Himalayaicus, which, if distinct from the 

 present species, is certainly closely allied to it. 



The black and silky fur of the upper part in this spe- 

 cies, and its elongated snout, have given rise to the opinion 

 in some places that it was a small species of Mole ; 

 to which both the structure and habits of the whole 

 genus indicate a very near affinity. 



The snout of the Water Shrew is less attenuated 

 than that of the Common Shrew, and somewhat 

 depressed ; eyes very small ; ears very short, furnished 

 with three internal lobes, one of them fringed with 

 white hair, which, reaching to the surface of the fur, 

 indicates the situation of the ear by a small white spot : 

 anterior teeth ferruginous at the tips ; body broader 

 and more full than in S. vulgaris ; tail rather slender, 

 quadrangular, compressed at the tip, fringed with stiff 

 hairs beneath ; feet rather broader than in the former 

 species, formed for swimming, having a lash of stiff 

 white hairs on the edge of the toes ; fur short, soft, 

 and silky. The colour of the upper parts, including 

 the head, back, flanks, and outer surface of the fore 

 and hind-legs, a rich brownish black ; the under parts 

 nearly pure white, the line of demarcation between the 

 two colours being generally abrupt ; a dusky spot around 

 the pubis. 



The Water Shrew is subject to considerable variation 

 in colour, and this at one time led to the belief that 

 more than one aquatic species existed in this country. 

 The most remarkable variety is that which was des- 

 cribed as the Oared Shrew in the first edition of this 

 book, and as Sorex ciliatus by Sowerby, and S. remifer 

 by Geoffroy. The Rev. Leonard Jenyns, in a paper on 

 " The Smaller British Mammalia," which appeared in the 



x 2 



