44 o THE DAESMAN, OR DESMAN. 



The teeth of the Agouta are very remarkable, both for their arrangement and their 

 form, but are very difficult to describe. The two middle incisors of the upper jaw are 

 extremely large, almost triangular in form, and are separated from the small lateral 

 incisors by a considerable interval. The most singular part of the dentition is, however, 

 found in the incisors of the lower jaw, of which Van der Hoeven speaks as follows : 

 The two middle incisors of the lower jaw are small, narrow, placed between two long 

 conical, hollowed on the inside by a deep groove ; the second grooved incisor of the lower 

 jaw distinguishes this genus from all the others of which the dental system is known 

 hitherto." Handbook of Zoology ^ vol. ii. p. 727. 



The dentition of the Agouta would seem to indicate that the creature was insectivorous 

 in its diet, but Mr. Hearne, who possessed one of these animals in a living state, re- 

 marks that its food is chiefly grain, although it is also capable of eating animal food. 

 In general appearance the Agouta somewhat resembles the barn-rat of England, and 

 might easily be mistaken for that animal if seen while in motion, and for a short time 

 only. There is supposed to be but one species of this curious genus. The generic 

 name, Solenodon, is of Greek origin, and signifies channel-toothed. 



ALTHOUGH the water shrew has earned for itself its aquatic title, it is not nearly 

 so constant an inhabitant of the water as the DAESMAN or DESMAN, an animal whose 

 very form is sufficient to stamp it as a creature that lives almost exclusively in the 

 water. A casual glance at the external formation of the Daesman will at once pronounce 

 the animal to be made for swimming and diving, and its admirable adaptation for 

 aquatic evolutions is more evident as the structure of the creature is more closely 

 examined. 



The legs and feet, which in the aquatic shrews are provided with rows of stiff bristles, 

 in order to assist the animal in its progress through the water, are in the Daesman 

 entirely modified into oars ; the powers of terrestrial movements being subservient to 

 those of aquatic locomotion. The toes are connected with each other by well defined 

 webs, and the greater portion of the legs are concealed under the skin. The tail is 

 modified for the same purpose, and is evidently used as a rudder by which the creature 

 may direct its course. 



The most remarkable point in the appearance of the Daesman is its extraordinarily 

 elongated nose, which bears no slight resemblance to the proboscis of an elephant, 

 and, indeed, is quite as valuable to its possessor. This prolonged nose is extremely 

 mobile, and can be applied to various purposes : one object of the elongated nose is 

 extremely singular, and deserves special notice. 



The habitation in which the Daesman lives is a most complicated house, the entrance 

 to which is under the surface of the water, so that the creature may escape into its 

 stronghold whenever it has cause to fear danger. The subterraneous tunnel in which 

 the creature lives extends for a considerable distance around the starting-point, and 

 often embraces an extent of more than twenty feet in its various windings. As the 

 animal does not become torpid during the winter, it needs a plentiful supply of food 

 and air. The former necessary can be obtained easily enough, but as the inclement 

 frost of its native country covers the surface of the water with a thick coat of ice, and 

 at the same time binds the earth in an icy chain, the poor Daesman is often sadly 

 harassed for want of air, as it cannot find exit from its burrow, and there is no other 

 mode of getting into the fresh atmosphere. 



In this strait the long and flexible nose of the Daesman stands it in good stead ; for 

 it runs about its burrow in search of any little fissures which may communicate with 

 the open air, and by thrusting the mobile organ into any such fortunate crevice, is 

 enabled to obtain sufficient air to sustain the vital powers. Should the winter be a 

 particularly severe one, many Daesmans are killed by the insufficiency of ventilation 

 in their houses, and are found in the spring lying dead in their burrows. 



It is very seldom that a Daesman is seen upon dry ground, and even at the hymeneal 

 season, which makes all animals courageous, it is never seen at any distance from the 

 water, and contents itself with running along the extreme edge of the water, or making 

 temporary resting-places in the heavy leafage of aquatic plants. Even these trifling 



