SOLENODONS. 343 



common hedgehog-tenrec (Ericulus setosus) is about two-thirds the size of the 

 European hedgehog, and has thirty- six teeth. Telfair's hedgehog -tenrec (E. 

 telfairi) is considerably smaller, with only thirty-four teeth, owing to the absence 

 of the first pair of premolars in the upper jaw. 



The Long-Tailed Two small mouse-like animals from Madagascar, each having 

 Tenrecs. forty teeth, are distinguished from all the preceding members of the 

 family by the absence of spines mingled with the fur, and also by the great length 

 of the tail. In one of the species (Microgale longicaudata) the length of the tail is 

 double that of the head and body a proportion only equalled among the pangolins. 

 Of the 40 teeth, | are incisors, { canines, and f cheek-teeth on either side. 



The Rice- The last members of the Centetidce are the two small mole-like 



Tenrecs. animals known as rice-tenrecs, distinguished by the extreme shortness 

 of their tails, and likewise by their burrowing habits. The four-toed rice tenrec 

 (Oryzorictes tetradactyla) is peculiar in having but four toes on the fore-feet, of 

 which the three innermost ones are armed with powerful claws for digging. The 

 second species (0. hova) has five front toes, but both agree in having long, trunk- 

 like snouts. These animals are a great pest to the agriculturists of Madagascar, 

 owing to the damage they inflict on the rice crops by burrowing in the earth 

 beneath the young plants in search of worms and insects. 



THE SOLENODONS. 

 Family SOLENODONTID^. 



Strange as it may seem that the nearest relatives of the tenrecs of Madagascar 

 should be found in a region so far removed from that island as the West Indies, yet 

 it appears that the two solenodons really occupy this position; although in the 

 form of the incisor, canine, and premolar teeth they approximate', very closely to 

 the desmans (p. 333). 



They have a total of forty teeth, corresponding serially with those of the long- 

 tailed tenrecs ; and they are distinguished from the Centetidce by the circumstance 

 that the skull is somewhat narrowed between the eyes, and also by the mammae 

 being entirely confined to the region of the groin, instead of extending on to the 

 breast, as in all other members of the order. The snout is long, cylindrical, and 

 trunk-like, with the nostrils situated on each side of its extremity ; the tail naked, 

 cylindrical, and of considerable length ; and the toes, especially those of the fore- 

 feet, are armed with powerful curved claws. The fur covering the body is long 

 and coarse. The Haytian solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus) is restricted to the 

 island of Hayti, and was the first known of the two species. It may be compared 

 in size to a small rabbit, the head and body measuring about 12 inches, and the 

 tail about 8. The head and upper-parts are brown, becoming blackish behind 

 and on the thighs; while the sides of the head and under-parts are lighter in 

 colour. 



The Cuban solenodon (S. cubanus), is distinguished by the whole of the head, 

 neck, and chest being tawny, or yellowish, while the remainder of the upper part 

 and sides of the body is dark blackish-brown. The nature of the fur is also some- 



