80 MAMMALIA. 



The Solenodon (Solenodon, Brandt) — • 



Ili?seml)les n gigrmtic Slirew, bot with coarse fur, and proportioniilly much longer "whislcors : the tan is 

 long, naked, and scaly, and the cla-\vs considerably more developed. There are six incisors to each 

 jaw, the first pair above, and the second jiair below, ver)' large, and resembling canines ; two superior 

 false molars, and tliree inferior, on each side; then five true molars above, and four below, subqnad- 

 rate, and broad or transverse. 

 Tlie siiecii'S, S. pann/oxus, Bram.U, inhal)its Ilayti, aiid is larger than the Brown Rat.| 



The Desmans {Mt/(/ale*, Cuv.) — 

 Differ from the Shrews by having [like the Solenodon] two very small teeth placed between the tvro 

 large inferior incisors, and in their upper incisors, which are flattened and triangular. Behind these 

 incisors are six or seven small teeth, and four bristled molars. Their muzzle is elongated into a small, 

 very flexible proboscis, which is constantly in motion. Their long tail, scaly and flattened at the sides, 

 and their feet with hvc toes all connected !)y membrane, proclaim them to be aquatic animals. Their 

 eyes are very small, [the fur long, straight, aud divergent,] and they have no external ears. 



The Russian Desman ('Sorex vioscliaiiif!. Lint. — Nearly equal in size to the common Urchin ; hlackisli above, 

 inclining- to white beneath ; the tail one fourth sliorter than the body. It is very common along the rivers and lakes 

 of Soutliern Russia, where it feeds on wonns, the larvae of insects, and particularly on Leeches, which it easily with- 

 draws from the mud by means of its flexible proboscis. Its burrow, excavated in a bank, commences under water, 

 and ascends to above the level of the highest floods. Tliis animal never comes voluntarily on shore, but is taken 

 very often in the nets of the lishermen. Its musky odour arises from a kind of pomatum secreted in small follicles 

 under the tail, and is even conmianicated to the flesh of Pike which devour the Desman. 



ITiere is found in the streamlets of the Pyrenees a smaller species of this genus, which has the tail longer than 

 its body IMi/r/. pi/rcnaica, II.) [This constitutes the division Mi/galina of Isidore GeoflVoy. 



The rest of the hiseclivora have amazingly powerful fore-feet, designed for tearing open the ground, 

 rather than for liuri'owing by merely scratching away the mould, as in the preceding genera.] 



The Cjirysochlores {Cbri/mcloris, Lacepcde), — 

 Juke the preceding genus, possess two incisors above and four below ; but their grinders are elevated, 

 distinct, and nearly all in the form of triangular prisms : the muzzle is short, broad, and recurved ; and 

 thcii" fore-feet have only three nails, of wduch the exterior is veiy large, much arcuated, and pointed, 

 forming a powerful instrument for digging and burrowing into the soil ; the others successively decrease 

 in size. Their hind limbs have five toes of the ordinary dimensions. They are subterraneous animals, 

 v/hose mode of life is similar to that of the "Moles. To enable them to dig the better, theix fore-arm 

 is su}»}iortcd by a third brmc placed under the cubitus. 



Tlie Cape Chrysochlore (I'aljxi a-shdicn, Lin. [now better known as C. capcns'is, Dcsm.)]. — Rather smaller than 

 our IMoIes, ^vitliout apparent tail. It is the only known quadruped which presents any appearance of those splendid 

 metallic reOections which adorn so many birds, fishes, and insects. Its fur is of a green, changing to copper or 

 bronze : the ears have no conch, and the eyes are not perceptible. f It inhabits Africa, and not Siberia, as falsely 

 reported. [There are three others, C. Hoitcutota^ Damarensis, and villosa, all from the same general locaUty.] 



The Moles {Talpa, Lin.)— 

 Are well known for their subterraneous life, and for their structure eminently qualified in adaptation to 

 it. A very slnu-t arm, attached to a large shoulder-blade, supported by a stout clavicle, and provided 

 with enormous muscles, sustains an extremely large hand, the palm of wdiich is always directed either 

 outwards or backwards : the lower edge of this hand is trenchant, and the fingers scarcely perceptible, 

 but the nails wliich terininatt; them are long, flat, strung, and sharp. Such is the instrument wdiich 

 the Mole employs to tear open the ground, and throw back the mould behind it. Its sternum possesses, 

 in common with that of Birds and Bats, a ridge which allows the pectoral muscles to attain the mag- 

 nitude requisite for the performance of their functions. To pierce and raise up the ground, It makes 



■ '1 Ills namcbelng preoccupied by a (jenu3 of Spiders, I'isch'jr 

 lusalLtrediitoMyogalca-— Ed. 



+ Tlie l-tt'tl MoiG of America, neba I. pj. xxxii. fig. 1, (Tiilpa 

 rubra, Lin.i, is most probubly a Cape Clirysochlure, flsuri.il frum 

 a dritd specimen, lor tlicu the fur appears purple. [It is more 



\i\o\y tlic Scalops canadensis,] Jlut ttic Tucan of Fernandez, re^ 

 gardcd as one of its synonymes, appcai-s rather, to judge from its 

 tH'ij long teeth to each .p.vv, and vegetable regimen, to be some 

 subterraneous rodent, psrhaps a Dijplostoma. 



