312 BACKBONED ANIMALS. 



sides of the lips are raised, the tongue presses the water 

 out through the strainer, the jellies passing down the ex- 

 tremely small throat, that is adapted for only this kind of 

 food. 



- The Greenland whale {Balczna mysticcetus], Balcena cis- 

 arctica, and australis. are familiar forms. 



VALUE. A single whale, captured by a New London vessel in 

 1884, realized for whalebone, $12,230; oil, $3,490; total, $15,720. 

 Spermaceti, ivory, and ambergris, are other productions. 



Order IV. Insect-eating Mammals (Insectivora). 



General Characteristics. The animals of this order prey 

 upon insects almost entirely. 

 The teeth are well developed, 

 the molars being prism-shaped, 

 with acute cusps- or points (Fig. 

 337). The feet are provided 

 with claws, often enormously de- 



FlG. 337. Skull of an insect- veloped. 



eating mammal, showing ShfCWS (Soridd<K\\K ap- 



the numerous pointed teeth. * . 



pearance the shrews (Fig. 339) 



resemble the rats. They have a wide distribution, but 

 are not found in Australia or South America. The broad- 

 nosed shrew (Sorex) is a common American form. The 

 nose is long, canine teeth absent, the ears large, tail con- 

 spicuous and scantily supplied with hair. This shrew is 

 one of the smallest quadrupeds on the continent, weigh- 

 ing only forty-seven grains. They secrete a protective 

 odor, contained in two glands at the base of the tail. They 

 burrow in the ground, and are mainly nocturnal in their 

 habits. Moles (Talpida). The moles are confined to 

 the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In 

 America, the star-nosed mole (Condylura) (Fig. 338) ranges 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Its length is about four 

 inches to the tail, which is of nearly the same length. The 

 nose terminates in numerous star-like fringes, that aid it in 



