286 LAKES AND STREAMS 



Locally the water-shrew (Neomys, or Croasopua fodiens), one of 

 the Insectivora, is a fairly common aquatic mammal in central 

 Europe. It is about 5-| inches in length from the nose to the tip of the tail, the 

 tail being about two-thirds as long. Like other shrew mice, it is at once distinguish- 

 able from land-mice by its long nose, while it is specially characterised by the 

 fringes of stiff hair on the tail and feet. Water-shrews are met with throughout 

 Europe and northern Asia as far east as the Altai Mountains. The interesting 

 discovery has recently been made that at least two of the water-shrews of southern 

 Europe differ from the British species by the absence of a fringe of hairs on the 

 lower margin of the tail. One of these species inhabits the streams of the Vaud 





THE -.VATEIi-SHltEW. 



Alps, and has been named N. milleri; while the second is a native of Spain, and 

 has been described as .V. cmomalus. The absence of the lower tail-fringe in these 

 continental water-shrews indicates that they are less specialised lor an aquatic life 

 than their British representative. Both the continental species are smaller than 

 the latter, the Spanish being distinguished from the Swiss form by its shorter 

 and greyer fur, as well as by certain differences in the shape of the skull. The 

 water-shrew feeds principally on aquatic insects and their larvae, as well as on 

 crustaceans, particularly the fresh-wato shrimp, and it has also been observed 

 to eat fresh-water snails and the fry of fish, including that of the salmon. Frog- 

 spawn and dead mammals and birds are also eaten, so that this shrew is not 

 entirely insectivorous. Its burrow in the river-bank is long and winding, and ends 

 in a terminal chamber lined with grass. 



