88 MAMMALIA. 
the ear surrounded with white, and almost hidden in the hair ; 
it has the faculty of hermetically closing when the animal dives, 
while the stiff bristles which fringe its feet give it a facility in 
swimming, in consequence of which it prefers the banks of 
creeks and rivulets. : 
Several Shrews have been observed in Europe, somewhat dif- 
fering from the preceding ones; but as in this genus the age _ 
and season materially affect the colours of the fur, it is by no 
means certain they are distinct species.(1) 
Other countries also have their own, the most remarkable of 
which is the S. myosurus, Pall., Act. Petrop. 1781, part II, pl. 
4; Mus musquée del Inde, Buff. Supp. VII, 71. (The Rat-tailed 
Shrew.) In its form and colour it resembles our common Shrew, 
and also has its large naked ears, but the tail is round, furnished 
with scattering hairs, and is almost as large as that of our 
Long-tailed Field-mouse. It gives out a strong musky scent 
which impregnates every thing it touches. It is found through- 
out India and part of Africa, and is one of the animals the an- 
cient Egyptians were in the habit of embalming.(2) 
Myeats, Cuv. 
The Desmans differ from the Shrews in two very small teeth 
placed between the two great lower incisors, and in their two upper 
(1) The S. leucodon, Schreb. 159, D, does not appear to me to differ from the 
common Shrew. I strongly suspect the S. fedragonurus and constrictus, Herm., 
Schreb. 159, B and C, or Geoff. Ann. Mus. XVII, pl. 2, f. 3, and pl. 3, f 1, and 
even the S. remifer, Geoff. Ann. Mus. XVII, pl. 2, f. 1, to be different ages of the 
Water-Shrew; the remifer particularly, whose belly is sometimes white, sometimes 
black ; the S. dineatus, Geoff. ib. 181, is an accidental variety of the tetragonurus 
arising from age. The S. minutus, Laxmann, Schreb. 161, B, is merely a muti- 
Jated specimen of the S. pygmaeus, Pall. 
Such is not the case however with the S. eiruscus, Savi, which is but half the 
size of our common species, is blackish, has naked ears, white muzzle and paws, 
round tail, &c. It is a true and distinct species. 
(2) I consider the S. myosurus, Pall. and Geoff. Ann. du Mus. XVII, pl. 3, f. 
2; the S. capensis, id. ib. pl. ii, f.2; the S. zndicus, id. Mem. du Mus. I, pl. 15, f. 
1, as ages or varieties of one same species, to which I also refer the S. giganteus, 
Isid. Geoff. Mém. du Mus. XV, pl. 4, fig. 3; perhaps even the S. /lavescens, Isid. 
Geoff. ib. Seba figures it, Mus. I, pl. 31, f 7 and 11—pl. 63, fig. 5, and the 
white variety, I, pl. 47, f. 4.—Add the S. murinus, Lin. of Java, of the size of a 
mouse ; grey ; ears naked ; tail round and nearly as long as the body.—The S. bre- 
vicaudus, Say, from North America; blackish, ears concealed, tail one-fourth the 
length of the body. —S. parvus, id. with naked ears.—The S. suaveolens, Pall., and 
the other species pointed out by him in his Zoography of Russia. This genus 
needs revision as much as that of the Bats. N.B. There are several species in 
the United States which have not yet been sufficiently examined. Am. Ed. 
