59.9, 33 S 



Article XXIII. NOTES ON SOLENODON PARADOXUS 



BRANDT. 



BY J. A. ALLEN. 

 PLATES XXVIII-XXXIIL 



The Museum has recently secured three specimens of Solenodon para- 

 doxus Brandt, collected in San Domingo in 1907, by A. Hyatt Verrill, for 

 the Kny-Scheerer Company, dealers in natural history specimens, of New 

 York City. They comprise a very old male and a very old female, 1 pre- 

 served in formalin, both with the teeth much worn, and the complete skele- 

 ton of a young specimen still retaining the entire milk dentition. The 

 two adult animals have been utilized for a group, the specimens having been 

 very carefully modeled by Mr. Herbert Lang. The skin of the female 

 was removed for mounting, the skeleton and most of the soft parts being 

 preserved separately. Of the male only the skin of the head could be used 

 for mounting, owing to its bad state of preservation, although the specimen 

 is available for anatomical study. Hence the male is shown as peering 

 from a hole in the artificial rock-work that forms the setting for the group. 

 An illustration of this group, from a photograph, was published in 'The 

 American Museum Journal' for February, 1908 (Vol. VIII, No. 2), and 

 is here reproduced in Plate XXVIII. 



A figure of the female, from a wash-drawing, from life, was published 

 by Mr. Verrill (7. c.), with an account of its capture, external characters, 

 habits, distribution, native names, etc. The other two specimens were 

 captured by Mr. Verrill after the above account was prepared. The first 

 specimen was taken "near El Cajon, and the other two near La Honda," 

 localities not given on ordinary maps, but situated in the eastern part of the 

 Republic. 



Mr. VerriH states that "the animal was well known to the natives in 

 certain isolated localities, but that over the greater portion of the Republic 

 it was absolutely unknown. This is readily accounted for by the presence 

 of the mongoose in most parts of the country, and it is only a question of 

 time when this pest will overrun the entire island and the Solenodon will 

 become actually exterminated." 



1 This is the specimen figured and described by Mr. Verrill in his 'Notes on the Habits and 

 External Characters of the Solenodon of San Domingo (Solenodon paradoxus),' published in 

 the 'American Journal of Science' for July, 1907 (4th ser., Vol. XXIV, pp. 55-57, with a half- 

 tone figure in the text), and also in the 'Annals and Magazine of Natural History' for the same 

 month (7th ser., Vol. XX, pp. 68-70, pi. iv). 



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