INSECTIVORES: MOLES AND HEDGEHOGS. 



45 



MOLES. 



Moles have a stout, thick body, short, strong legs, 

 short tail, and very large fore feet fitted for digging. 

 Their eyes are very small, and their fur is soft, thick, 

 and velvet-like. The Shrew Mole of North America is 

 of the size of a very large 

 mouse, and its eyes are so 

 small that many suppose 

 it to be blind. The hole 

 for the eye is only about 

 the size of a hair, and the 

 eyeballs are smaller than a mustard seed. It is said 

 that this mole comes to the surface of the ground every 

 day at noon. The Star-nosed Mole is about the size of 



Fig. 80. Shrew Mole. 



Fig. 81. Nose of Star-nosed 

 Mole. 



Fig. 82. - Skull of Star-nosed 

 Mole. 



the Shrew Mole, and is so named from the form of 

 the end of the nose, which is star-shaped. 



HEDGEHOGS. 

 These animals are short and thick, and the back is 



Fig. 83. Madagascar Hedgehog, or Tenrec. 



covered with spines. When alarmed, they take the 

 form of a ball, presenting the spines in every direction, 



