THE AGOUTA, OR SOLENDON. 



439 



There is another British Shrew, called the Rustic Shrew (Corsira Rustica), which is 

 very common throughout I reland, and is also found in many parts of England. Among the 

 Shrews is found the smallest known mammalian animal of the present day ; being even 

 smaller than the tiny harvest-mouse of England, which has been made so famous by Mr. 

 White's elegant description of itself and its habits in his " Natural History of Selborne." 

 This most minute quadruped is only one inch and a half in length, exclusive of the tail, 

 which measures about an inch. The name of this minikin among mammals is the 

 Etruscan Shrew, and its habitation is in Italy. Specimens are said to have been 

 discovered in Algeria. 



THE specific title of Paradoxus or puzzling has very appropriately been given to the 

 AGOUTA ; a little animal which is peculiar to Hayti, and which combines in its own 

 person several characteristics that properly belong to different families of animals. 



Were the observer to pay regard only to the external peculiarity of fur, ears, and tail, 

 he would be inclined to place it among the opossums ; but if he were to lay the greatest 

 stress upon the teeth, he would probably assign it a place among the shrews. 



AQOUTA, OR SOLENODON.-So/OKX/ofl Paradoxus. 



It seems, however, that it is really allied to the latter group of animals, and it is 

 therefore placed in the position which it at present holds in zoological catalogues. The 

 fur of the Agouta is long, harsh, and coarse in texture, and its color is an undecided red, 

 tinged with yellow. The nose is extremely elongated, like that of the shrews, and 

 strengthened at its base by a slender bone, so that it appears to be intended for the 

 purpose of digging in the earth like those animals. The nostrils are placed at the 

 extremity of the snout, and are divided from each other by a distinct furrow. The cheeks 

 and lips are decorated with whisker-hairs of very great length ; the eyes are very small ; 

 the ears are moderate in size, and rounded, and almost devoid of hairy covering. All the 

 feet are terminated with five toes, and the long claws are curved, rather compressed, and 

 evidently fitted for the purpose of scraping at the soil. 



The tail is moderately long, measuring about nine inches in length, and is rounded 

 throughout its length, remainder of the head and body being rather more than a foot 

 long. It is not covered with hair, but is rather naked, and for the greater part of its 

 length is scaly. The lower jaw is rather shorter than the upper. 



