100 INSECTIVORA 



Colour. — Upper parts varying from a dark hair-brown, 

 tinged with bister to a light drab with or without a shade of 

 wood-brown, the darker colour more frequent in winter pelage, 

 the light apparently peculiar to summer. The pelage has the 

 usual metallic gloss, and the individual hairs show strong silvery 

 reflections in certain lights, particularly in the long full winter 

 coat. Underparts usually a dull buffy grey or ecru-drab, but 

 sometimes almost whitish, rarely tinged with a bright yellowish 

 brown,* never strongly constrasted with back, the line of 

 demarcation along sides always vague. Feet dull buffy grey or 

 light drab. Tail obscurely bicolor, like back above, like belly 

 below. 



Skull and teeth. — The skull resembles that of Crocidura 

 leucodon, except that the brain-case is noticeably less flattened, 

 its depth at middle always exceeding one half greatest width, a 

 character readily appreciable to the eye when skulls of the two 

 animals are viewed from behind. Teeth essentially as in the 

 related species, but large upper premolar with antero-external 



Fis. 20. Fig. 21. 



Posterior view of skull of Crocidura russula. Anterior 



Croeidura leucodon (upper teeth in profile. X 5. 



figure), and C. russula (lower 

 figure), x It. 



cusp (paracone) low, its height often much less than that of 

 third unicuspid, the distance from its point to ill-defined angle 

 in cingulum over anterior root of tooth about half length of 

 anterior border of main cusp ; posterior cutting blade not so 

 high as in Crocidura leucodon, the angle formed between its 

 edge and conspicuously projecting point of main cusp well 

 defined and less obtuse than in the related species. 



Measurements. — In the different races the head and body 

 ranges from 64 to 95 mm., tail from 33 to 46 mm., hind foot 

 from 10 • 8 to 14 mm., condylobasal length of skull from 

 18 to 20 "4 mm. The unusual apparent variability in length 

 of head and body is probably in great part due to differences in 

 method of taking the measurement and to differences in the 

 condition of the specimens measured. 



* Such specimens evidently formed the basis of Savi's Sorex thoracicus 

 and Dehne's S. chrysothorax. 



