120 



THE IXSFXT-EATERS. 



when submerged; and on rising again, the fur is 

 observed to be perfectly dr\-, rcpelHng the water 

 as completely as the featliers of the water-fowl. 

 When submerged, the ear is nearl)- closed by means 

 of three little valves." 



We annex to the group of the Runners 

 a few foreign genera, which might in part be 

 formed into separate famihes, but which are 

 only imperfectly known. An illustration is 

 furnished of one species which belongs ex- 



clusively to the Antilles — the Agouta or 

 Almiqui of the natives [Solenodon paradoxtim), 

 fig. 51. It is one of the largest of the 

 Insectivora, and possesses the large upper 

 triancrular incisor of the musk-shrews, and in 



O 



the lower jaw has the second incisor in the 

 form of a canine. The teeth, 40 in number, 

 are white, and their form approaches that of 

 the tanrec of Madagascar. The proboscis- 

 like snout is very long, pointed, and mobile, 



Fig. 51. — The .Agouta or Almiqui [Solenodon paradoxiini). 



the tail round and scaly, the toes armed with 

 sharp claws, the body about 8 inches in 

 length. Nothing is known of the habits of 

 these creatures. Judging from their teeth 

 we must suppose that they live solely on 

 animal food. They form along with some 

 African genera (Potamogale, Rhynchocyon, 

 Eupleres) remarkable connecting links be- 

 tween the large groups of the shrews, the 

 tanrecs, and the hedgehogs, and even with 

 the Viverrida among the Carnivora. 



THE CRAWLERS. 



The Tanrecs {CentcUda). 



Natives of the island of Madagascar which have the appear- 

 ance of our hedgehogs. 



This is a very isolated group as regards its 

 geographical distribution and structural or- 



ganization, and is made up of several genera 

 distinCTuished bv their dentition and the char- 

 acter of their fur, but ao-reeingr with the 

 shrews in the absence of the zygomatic arch, 

 with the hedgehogs in the absence of a pubic 

 symphysis, and with the members of the 

 genus Cladobates in havinof the bones of the 

 lower leg, the tibia and fibula, which in all 

 other Insectivora are more or less fused to- 

 gether, perfectly distinct. 



The dentition is rather variable. The true 

 Tanrecs (forming the genus Centetes), fig. 52, 

 have 40 teeth ; others, to which the name of 

 Tendracs (forming the genus Ericulus) has 

 been given, have only 36. The carnivorous 

 nature of these animals is indicated in the 

 former by the recurved canines in both jaws 

 and the development of crests on the rather 

 long skull, while in the tendracs the canine is 



