DESMANS. 



333 



very far forward on the body, and are more or less specially modified for the 

 purpose of digging in the ground. The family, although by no means so 

 numerous in species as the shrews, is a comparatively large one, containing at least 

 eight distinct generic modifications. It is entirely confined to the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere, where it is widely distributed over the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, 

 and North America. 



THE DESMANS. 

 Genus Myogale. 



The strange-looking desmans, of which there are two species, are aquatic 

 animals belonging to a section of the family characterised by the fore-limb not 



KUSSIAN DESMANS (^ liat size). 



being specially modified for the purpose of digging, and thus forming a connecting 

 link between the shrews and the moles. This absence of special modification is 

 exhibited by the bones of the skeleton of the fore-limb, in which the collar-bone 

 (clavicle), and the arm-bone (humerus) still retain a distinctly elongate form, while 

 there is no additional bone in the fore-foot. 



The desmans are provided with the typical number of forty-four teeth, and are 

 further characterised by their completely webbed feet, their long trunk-like snout, 

 which projects far in advance of the upper lip, and the elongated and scaly tail. The 

 Russian desman (Myogale moschata) is considerably the larger 

 of the two, its total length being about 16 inches, of which some 6J 

 are occupied by the tail. The fur is dense and thick, like that of an otter, with the 

 outer portion formed of long stiff hairs, and the under-coat soft and woolly. Above, 

 it is of a full reddish-brown, and beneath of an ashy -grey, with a silvery lustre 



Russian Desman. 



