INSECT-EATING MAMMAIS. 49 



Two curious Insectivores, one inhabiting Cuba and the other Hayti, form 

 the g^nus Solenodon, which alone represents a family agreeing in the general 

 characters of the teeth and skull with the last, but differing 

 in that there is a short bony union between the pubic por- Family Solen- 

 tion of the pelvis ; and also in that the teats are situated on odonlidoi. 

 the buttocks. These animals have a very long cylindrical 

 snout, with the nostrils opening on its sides, a long naked tail, feet adapted 

 for walking, and the fur long and coarse. They resemble Potamogale in 

 having the second pair of lower incisor teeth much larger than the first, but 

 are peculiar in that the crowns of the former are deeply excavated. These 

 animals probably feed on flesh as well as on insects. 



The tenreca of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, of which there are 

 five genera and a considerable number of species, constitute another closely 

 allied family, mainly distinguished from the last by the teats 

 being situated on the breast and abdomen. The true tenreo Tlie Tenreos. 

 (Centetes ecaudahis), which is the largest member of the — Family 

 order and the sole member of its genus, is characterised by Centetidce. 

 the absence of a tail, and the possession of 40 teeth, among 

 which there are four pairs of upper molars — the latter feature being almost 

 unique among Mammals other than the Marsupials. The adult males differ 

 from most Insectivores in possessing large 

 tusks in both jaws ; and while the young have 

 long rows of white spines along the back, 

 these disappear in the adult. The total length 

 of a full-grown specimen varies from 12 to 16 

 inches. The number of young produced at a 

 birth is very great, upwards of twenty-one 



having been recorded in one instance. Nearly „. „ ,„ , , , , . 



allied are the two species of streaked tenrecs ■^"'•28-TENKB:o(Centefe.eoa«<2ai«*). 



{Hemicentetes), distinguished by having three in place of two pairs of upper 

 incisor teeth, and probably only three of upper molars, as well as by the 

 smaller dimensions of the canines, which scarcely exceed the incisors in size. 

 In these animals, which may be compared in size to a mole, the rows of 

 spines on the back are permanently retained. The small animals known as 

 hedgehog-tenrecs {Erioidus) take their title from their resemblance to minia- 

 ture hedgehogs, although it is probable that they are incapable of rolling 

 themselves into such a complete ball-like form as are the latter. The whole 

 of the back and sides are protected by a coat of parti-coloured short spines ; 

 and these animals are further distinguished by the possession of a short tail. 

 While in one species {E. setosus) the number of teeth is 3G, in the 

 second {E. telfinri) it is reduced to 34 By some the latter is made 

 the type of a distinct genus, under the name of Echinops. The two mouse- 

 like long-tailed tenrecs, forming the genus Microgale, differ from all tho 

 foregoing in the absence of spines in the fur at all ages, and likewise by the 

 extraordinary length of the tail, which in one of the two is double that of 

 the head and body. The number of teeth is 40. Lastly, the two mole- 

 like rice-tenrecs (Oryzorictes), while agreeing with the preceding genus in the 

 absence of spines among the fur, differ by the shortness of the tail and 

 their burrowing habits. Whereas in one species (0. hora) the fore-foot 

 has the usual five toes, in the other (0. tetradadylus) the number is 

 reduced to four, of which the three inner ones are armed with strong 

 digging claws. These animals do much harm to the rice crops in Mada- 

 6 



