ORDER CARNASSIER. 181 



velvety appearance, and an uniformity and harmony of tone. 

 The feet of the Constrictus are covered with hair like those 

 of the preceding species. The peculiar formation of the 

 tail would seem to indicate that it lived in elevated situa- 

 tions ; Dr. Gall, however, found the litter of seven, which 

 we mentioned above, in a meadow which had just been 

 mown, at a small distance from a rivulet. 



The Sorex Leucodon (White-toothed Shrew) is another of 

 the species described by Hermann. It seems probable that 

 the specimen seen by the Professor was but young. Its 

 dimensions are much the same as those of the Shrew of 

 Daubenton, excepting that the tail of the Leucodon is shorter. 

 Its toes likewise are a little thicker, the nails are shorter, 

 and the eyes larger. Its tail is not precisely rounded, but 

 rather partakes of that approximation to a square which 

 characterizes this organ in the common Shrew. Its incisive 

 teeth, notwithstanding its name, cannot be considered as 

 entirely white, except in its earlier age. In adults their 

 extreme point is tinged with brown. Inaccurate or imper- 

 fect observation could have only given rise to its specific 

 appellation. 



The fur of this species is a much more distinctive cha- 

 racter than any other that we have yet cited. Its back is 

 brown ; its belly and (what is not observed in the other 

 Shrews) its flanks are white. Elsewhere, as in all the 

 other species, it is the points of the hairs alone which are 

 of this latter colour ; the rest is ash-coloured. The upper 

 part of the tail is the colour of the back, and the lower part 

 the colour of the belly. 



The Striped Shrew (Sorex Lineatus,) is found in the 

 environs of Paris. Its form is more lank, and its 

 muzzle longer and finer than those of the preceding species; 

 Its tail is round, and strongly partaking of the keel shape 

 underneath. Its fur is generally of a blackish brown, the 

 belly is more pale, and the throat is ash-coloured. By two 



