THE RADIATED MOLE, OR STAR-NOSED MOLE. 



429 



applicable to the very singular coloring of the animal. The term holosericea is also 

 Greek, and signifying "wholly silken," in reference to the lustrous surface of the hairs. 



Even putting aside the strange chromatism of the fur, the creature is a very remark- 

 able one in many respects, and especially deserving of notice on account of its teeth 

 and its feet. 



The teeth of the Changeable Mole are arranged in a very peculiar mode, being sep- 

 arated from each other by an interval that is equal to their thickness, so that when the 

 jaws are closed, the teeth of either jaw fit exactly into the interstices that are left between 

 those of the opposite jaw, like the iron serrations of a steel-trap. It has been well re- 

 marked that "the Chrysochlore affords,it is believed, the only example in the animal world 

 of teeth being opposed by their anterior and posterior faces." The skeleton is altogether 

 a singular one, for there are no less than nineteen pairs of ribs, and in one species twenty 

 pairs have been made out. The first rib is thick and broad in proportion to the others. 



The fore-feet are furnished with four toes, the fourth toe being very small, and tipped 

 with a nail of ordinary size. The other three toes are armed with most formidable claws, 

 by means of which the animal is enabled to dig into the earth. The middle toe carries a 

 claw of surprising dimensions, as may be seen on reference to the engraving. The 

 hinder feet are five-toed, and of no very great proportional size. The eye is externally 

 invisible, being covered with skin, so that the animal appears to be practically blind. 

 There are no ears, and no tail. The size of the creature is rather less than that of the 

 common European Mole. 



As may be perceived from its title, it is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, although 

 it was formerly thought to inhabit Siberia. It is also known by the name of the Hot- 

 tentot Chrysochlore ; and the French name is Taupe doree, or Gilded Mole. Its food 

 consists, like that of the other moles, of worms and various insects. 



RADIATED MOLE, OR STAR-NOSED MOLE.Astromyetes cristatus. 



EVEN in a stuffed specimen, or in an uncolored engraving, the aspect of the RADIATED 

 MOLE is a most grotesque and singular one ; but its quaint uniqueness is much more 

 striking when the animal is alive and in full health. 



The most remarkable point in this animal is the muzzle, which is produced into a long, 

 slender proboscis, round the extremity of which are arranged a number of soft, fleshy rays, 

 of a bright rose-color, radiating like the petals of a daisy, or the tentacles of a sea anem- 

 one. These curious rays, or caruncles, as they are more scientifically termed, can be 

 spread or closed at pleasure, and present a strange spectacle when in movement. Their 

 probable object is that they may serve as a delicate organ of touch, to aid the animal in 



