210 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



Like the Moles, their neck is not distinct. The ante- 

 rior paws are very short ; the hands large, naked, scaly, 

 with the lower edge trenchant, though in a less degree than 

 in the Moles. They have five short fingers united as far as 

 the second phalanx with long straight nails. The hinder 

 feet are longer than those of the Mole or Scalope, and 

 longer by a third than the anterior ; they are weak, and 

 the toes are deeply divided ; the nails not so long as in the 

 hands, more bent and sharp at their points. The tail is 

 very slender, with the vertebrae a little salient. It is 

 about one third the length of the body ; the skin which 

 covers it is divided into transverse folds, moderately close 

 and scaly, and between the scales spring a few rough hairs. 



Their fur is short, fine, soft, and silky. Their eyes very 

 small 7 and so concealed in the fur, that it is with difficulty 

 they can be found. The ears are totally destitute of an 

 external conque. They have long rough mustachios, ele- 

 vated parallel with each other, and directed forward to- 

 wards the muzzle. The eyebrows are indicated by three 

 or four similar hairs, which direct to the situation of the 

 eyes. The palms are perfectly naked. 



The first, and indeed the only species known with cer- 

 tainty, is the Sorex Cristatus of Linnaeus, the Radiated Mole 

 of Pennant. It was first described by M. de la Faille, in 

 the Memoires of the French Academy for 1769. To the 

 generic characters already detailed, it may be necessary 

 only to add, that the fur is of the same blackish-gray, velvety 

 colour as in the Mole, and that the rays round the nose are 

 of rose colour. By enveloping and enclosing the nasal 

 conduit, or by a contrary action, the Condylure is enabled 

 to draw together or to open and spread these rays like the 

 calices of a flower. The Condylure is in a small degree 

 less than the Mole. 



The Condylure is an inhabitant of Canada and the United 

 States, having very much the manners of the Mole. 



