1 (JAUKAKJA. 77 



I been remarl(eil on ciittini!; ilown the tree to whirti one was cliinrinf^, and seizinp; it before it conW extricate itsell 

 I from tlie brandies. Tlie) iiroduce generally two )Oung at a birth ; and tlieir cry resembles the low cackle of a 

 Cioose.] 



All the otlier Caniaria have the mammtc situated on the belly. 



THE SECOND FAMILY OF CARNARTA,— 



INSECTIVORA — 



Possess, like the CJielroptera, grinders beset with conical pomts, and generally lead a nocturnal 

 or subterraneous life : they subsist principally on insects, and m cold countries most of them 

 jiass the winter in a torpid state. They haA'e no lateral mcni1)ranes, as in the Cheiroptera ; 

 Init the clavicles are never absent : their feet are short, and their movements feel)le*; the 

 mamma: are placed under the abdomen, and the penis in a sheath. None of them have a 

 ca?cum, and in running they all place the entire sole of the foot upon the ground. 



They differ in the relative proportions and position of their incisors and canines. 



Some have long incisors in front, followed by other incisors [along the sides of their narrow 

 jaws], and canines, all shorter even than the molars; a kind of dentition, of which the Mal- 

 mags, among the Quadriimana, have already atibrded an examiile, and which somewhat 

 approximates these animals to the Rodents : others have large sejiarated canines, between 

 which are placed small incisors, being the ordinary disposition of these teeth both in the Quad- 

 rumatia and Carnaria j and these two systems of dental arrangement occur in genera other- 

 wise very similar in the character of their teguments, in the form of their limbs, and mode 

 of life. 



[It is in this gronj) that we arc led to identify the canine tooth as simply the first of tlie 

 false molars, \Ahich in some has two fangs ; and, as in the Lemurs, to perceive that the second 

 in the lower ja\v is in some more analogous in size and character to an ordinary canine, than 

 that which follows the incisors. The incisor teeth arc never more than six in number, which 

 is the maximum throughout placental Mammalia (as op])osed to marsupial) ; and, in several 

 instances, one or two pairs are deficicntf: the canines, with the succeeding false molars, are 

 extremely variable % ; but there are ordinarily three tubcrculated molars posterior to the rejn'e- 

 sentative of the carnivorous or cutting grinder of the true Carnivora. The snout in the 

 Iiisectivora is generally elongated.] 



The Urchins, or Hedgehogs (Ermaceits, Lin.) — 

 Have the body covered with prickles instead of hairs. Tlie skin of the back is furnished with such 

 muscles that the animal, by inclining its head and feet towards the belly, is enabled to inclose itself as 

 in a purse, presenting only its spines towards an enemy. Their tail is very short, and their feet liave 

 each five toes. They possess on each jaw six incisors, of "\^ liich the middle are the longest ; and on 

 cither side three false molars, three bristled true molars, and a small tuberculous tooth. 



The European Urchin (E. Eriropietts, Lin). — A well known species, common in the woods and hedges. It sub- 

 sists chiefly on insects, but also feeds partly npon fruit, by which at a certain age its teeth become worn : passe.s 

 the winter in its burrow, whence it issues in the spring with an amplitude and complication of its venicidce scmi- 

 Tiah's that is almost incredible. [It produces a variable number of young, sometimes six or seven, which are 

 born with their eyes closed, and, what is remarkable, their ears also; their prickles are then thin, and few in 

 number, white, and at lirst flexile and disposed backward ; but they soon harden on exposirre. The adults remain 

 concealed till the evening, when they run about in search of prey, with an omnivorous appetite ; they devour 

 Toads, and have been known to destroy leverets.] Pallas has noticed as an interesting fact, that the Urchin eats 

 hundreds of Cantharides without experiencing any Ul effect, whereas a single one produces horrible agony in a 

 Dog or Cat. 



[Ten other species are now known, distributed over Asia and Africa, but not Madagascar. Some are of small 

 size, and others have the ears considerably enlarged. 



• In Mdcroschetidrs, the hind feet are lenertliened. and announce 

 atilicv ; wliile tlie Bari.\rings are said to be as lively as a Squirrel. — Ed. 



t 'Ihc forked incisors of the Shrews appear eaclj to represent two 

 tsetb i and tire analogues of the inferior central incisors, wanting in 



this genus, appear, in Sotenodon and Mi/ogaiea, of small sire, between 

 the representatives of the long dentelatcd incisors of Seroj, 



I It should be rcaiarked that a single tooth witli two fangs is often 

 represented by two separate teeth, each with one fang. 



