THE TUPAIA-TANA. 



procuring the worms and insects on which it feeds. The openings of the nostrils are 

 situated in the centre of the radiated disk. The number of the caruncles is about twenty. 

 On account of the proportionately lengthened tail, the animal is sometimes called 

 the Long-tailed Mole ; for the tail is two inches and a half in length, while the head 

 and body only measure four inches and a half. Another name by which it is known 

 is the Condylure, or " knotty tail," an epithet which has been applied to it because, 

 when a specimen is dried, the skin of the tail contracts so firmly over the vertebrae that 

 the separate bones exhibit their form through the skin, and give to the tail a knotted 

 aspect. The color of the fur is much like that of the common Mole, being a velvety 

 blackish -gray on the upper portions of the body, and paler on the under parts. The 

 eyes are extremaly small, and there is no external indication of ears. It is an inhabit- 

 ant of Canada and the United States. 



TUPAIA-TANA.-Tupa/a Tana. 



THE insect-eating animals which have already been described are in the habit of 

 searching for their prey under the surface of the earth, and are filrnished with extremely 

 imperfect means of sight. But the curious examples of Insectivora which are collected 

 into the single genus Tupaia are of a very different nature, living in the full light of day 

 and seeking their insect prey among the branches of the trees on which they dwell. It 

 needs, therefore, that animals which obtain their food in such a manner should be endowed 

 with excellent powers of vision ; and we find accordingly that the Tupaias which 

 animals will be represented by two examples are furnished with good eyes and quick 

 sight. Indeed, the entire aspect of these creatures reminds the observer more of the 

 squirrels than of the moles. The Tupaias are inhabitants of Sumatra and parts of India. 



The head of this animal is very singular in its shape, which is well represented in 

 the engraving. The upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower, and the muzzle con- 

 siderably produced, so that the head has a strangely dragon-like aspect, which is 

 heightened by the position of the ears, which are set very far back, and by the long 

 sharp rows of teeth which arm each jaw. The long bushy tail of the Tupaia gives it a 

 kind of resemblance to the squirrel, a resemblance which is appreciated by the native 



