534 M. A. C. Hinton — British Fossil Shreivs. 



Sores araneus, Linn. (PI. XXV, Fig. 12, and Text-fig. 12a.) 

 Sorex araneus, Linnaeus, Systema Natura, x, 53, 1758. 

 S. vulgaris, Linnaeus and most recent authors ; "Woodward & Sherborn, Cat. 



Brit. Foss. Vert., 1890, p. 382 (Kent's Hole and Teesdale Caverns; 



material not seen by me) ; Newton, Q.J.G.S., vol. 1, p. 192, pi. xi, fig. 1, 



1894 (Ightham Fissures) ; Jackson, Lancashire Naturalist, 1910 (Dog 



Holes, Warton Crag). 

 S. araneus, Dorothea Bate, Geol. Mag., Dec. IV, Vol. VIII, p. 103, 1901 (Wye 



Cave ; material not seen by me). 



Material examined. — Fossil: (1) three nearly perfect and more 

 than a score of fragmentary skulls and numei'ous mandibulse from 

 the Ightham Fissures (in the collections of Dr. Frank Corner and 

 myself) ; (2) one perfect and several fragmentary skulls and many 

 mandibulse from the Dog Holes Cave, Warton Crag, in the British 

 Museum (presented by Mr. J. W. Jackson) ; (3) six fragmentary 

 skulls and a left ramus from the submerged forest at Leasowe 

 (B.M. M. 7593) ; (4) a left ramus from the Holocene of Worm's Heath 

 (B.M., presented by Mr. R. H. Chandler). I have studied this 

 material •with skulls of twenty-eight recent specimens of 8. araneus 

 in my own collection, from West Wickham and Ightham in Kent, 

 Wanstead, Essex, and West Bunton, Norfolk. 



Remarks. — Ightham Fissures : The three nearly perfect skulls 

 of which the dimensions are given in Table I are a trifle smaller 

 than are those of recent 8. araneus, but among the fragmentary 

 specimens there are many larger ones; forty-one mandibulse were 

 carefully measured (results summarized in Table II), and give a range 

 of variation similar to that of the recent specimens. I am unable 

 to distinguish these remains from S. araneus. Dog Holes : The 

 perfect skull is remarkable for the great breadth of brain-case ; the 

 lower jaws (twelve measured) agree with those of 8. araneus. Two 

 others, with lengths of 8 -9 and 9*1 mm., may indicate the presence of 

 S. hennardi in this cave, but more material is required. Leasowe 

 and Worm's Heath (Holocene) : The remains from these deposits are 

 referable to S. araneus, and call for no comment. 



S. araneus is not known from any deposit in Britain of greater 

 antiquity than the latest part of the Pleistocene period. 



Sorex mintjttjs, Linn. (PI. XXV, Fig. 14, and Text-fig. 14a.) 



Sorex minutus, Linnaeus, Systema Nature, xii, 73, 1766. 



S. pygmceus, Laxmann, Sibirische Briefe, lxxii (ed. Schlozer, 1769) ; Newton, 

 Q.J.G.S., vol. 1, p. 192, pi. xi, fig. 2, 1894 (Ightham Fissures). 



Material examined. — Four rami from the Ightham Fissures in the 

 collection of Dr. Frank Corner. 



Remarks. — As will be seen from the measurements, these specimens 

 agree in size with the mandibulse of this species, to which they 

 appear to be referable. 



Xeomts. 



Neomys, Kaup, System cler Europaischen Thienvelt, vol. i, p. 117, 1829. 

 Crossopus, Wagler, Oken's Isis (Jena), 1832, p. 275, and most subsequent 

 authors. 

 Dental formula: i. \^^ c. \ p. ±^\ m. j^| = 30. Lower incisor 

 with one persistent denticle. Middle non-articular part of condyle 



