GALEOPITHECID^. S9/f 



metallic colours, such as are produced by the " setse " of the 

 Sea-mice {Aphrodite) amongst the AnneUdes. The star-nosed 

 Moles {Condylura) are North American, and are distinguished 

 by a fringe of elongated membranous caruncles surrounding 

 the nostrils. The tail is moderately long. 



Fam. 2. Soricidce. — ^The Soriddce or Shrew-mice are distin- 

 guished by having the body covered with hair, and the feet not 

 adapted for digging; whilst there are external ears, and the 

 eyes are well developed. Of all the Insectivora, no division is 

 more abundant or more widely distributed than that of the 

 Shrew-mice. In general form and appearance the Shrews very 

 closely resemble the true Mice (Muridm) and the Dormice 

 {MyoxidcB), but jthey are in re;ality widely different, and must 

 not be confounded with them. The common Shrew (Sorex 

 araneus) and the Water-Shrew {Sorex fodiens) are both well- 

 known species of this family. The smallest known Mammal 

 is one of the Shrews {Sorex Etruscus), which is not more than 

 two and a half inches in length, counting in the tail. Besides 

 tlie true Shrews, the Shrew-moles {Scalops) and the Elephant 

 Shrews {Macroscelides) are included in this family, the former 

 being North American, whilst the latter are African. 



, Fam. 3. Erinaceidm. — The last family of the Insedivo7-a is 

 that of the Hedgehogs, characterised by the fact that the 

 upper part of the body is covered with prickly spines, the feet 

 are not adapted far digging, and they have n)ostly. the power 

 of rolling themselves into a ball at the approach of danger. 

 The common Hedgehog {Erinaceus Europtzus) is in every way 

 a typical example of this family, but is too well known to re- 

 quire any description. Other species of Erinaceus have been 

 recorded from Africa and India. 



The "Tenrecs" {Cmtetes) are natives of Madagascar, and 

 may be regarded as Hedgehogs without the power of rolling 

 themselves up into a ball. They have no tail, and have the 

 skin beset with' spines or spine-like bristles. 



The " Banxrings" {Tupaia) are arboreal in their habits, and 

 are confined to the Indian Archipelago. They must be regarded 

 as the type of a distinct family of Insectivora. They have a 

 long attenuated snout, with large eyes, a long body, and a close 

 fur intermixed with soft hairs. The feet are plantigrade, five- 

 toed, with naked soles and sickle-shaped claws. The tail is 

 longer than the body, compressed and fringed at the sides. 



GALEOPITHECIDjE. 



Before passing on to the Qnadrumana, mention must be 

 made here of a very singular animal which forms a kind o( 



