174 



MAMMALIA. 



The following are the skull measurements : — 



The skulls are from two specimens from Caleuttaj the 

 measurements of which are already given. The female skull is 

 that of an old animal, as the teeth are considerably worn and the 

 basi-occipital suture has wholly disappeared, while in the 

 male skull there is still a trace of it, but in the male skull 

 the teeth are also worn. The male is the larger, with much 

 more posterior breadth and much more powerful first incisors 

 than the female skull. Although sexual, the differences in 

 dentition show themselves in the upper first incisors, and not 

 in the canines, as in other mammals. 



There are 14 dorsal, and 19 caudal vertebrae. 



At first I was disposed to recognise two large shrews as 

 existing in Calcutta, one with larger feet than the other, but 

 on a more extended enquiry I had to abandon any such 

 opinion because of the constant recurrence of intermediate 

 individuals, leading from one extreme into the other. The 

 variability of the tail in this, as in other shrews, was a priori 

 to be looked for owing to the circumstance that the tails of 

 the newly born of the same litter vary considerably, and are 

 always very short. In two females of the same brood the 

 tail in one measured 3"05, and in the other 3'44. In the 

 same individuals the hind foot is also seen to be the subjeet 

 of considerable variaton. 



There can be no doubt but that this species, as well as other 

 species of shrews, breed before they are adult, long before the 

 basi-occipital suture of the skull shows any sign of tending to 

 become obliterated, and long before the cranial muscular 



