Sl8 AMERICAN MOLES 



Their principal food consists of earthworms, and it may not be 

 out of place to quote Topsell's quaint account of their pursuit of 

 the annelids : " When the wormes are followed by molds (for by 

 digging and heaving they foreknow their owne perdition) they 

 fly to the superficies and very toppe of the earth, the silly beast 

 knowing that the niolde, their adversary, dare not followe them 

 into the light, so that their wit in flying their enemy is greater 

 than in turning againe when they are troade upon." It has 

 lately been said ^ that iloles store up earthworms for consump- 

 tion during the winter, biting off their heads to prevent their 

 crawling away. 



Scalo]JS, an American genus, is a Mole-like creature of largely 

 aquatic habits, as its webbed hind-feet show ; it has a short, naked 

 tail. Apparently, like the Shrews, it has no lower canines. 



Comlijlura, another American genus, is called the Star-nosed 

 Mole on account of a curious radiating structure at the end of 

 the snout. 



Myogale, the Desman, is still more aquatic in habit, and 

 connects the iloles with the Shrews, though, as in many of the 

 former, it has lower canines. It has webbed hind-feet and a long 

 tail. One species occurs in the l'3'renees, the otlier in Eussia. A 

 few other genera ( Urutrichvs, Uro^Jsilus, Bcaptonyx, Bj/mecodon, 

 Scapasius, Perasr.cdops) belong to the same family. 



Fam. 9. Soricidae. — The true Shrews have a much wider 

 range than other families of the present order. In the Palaearctic 

 region are found tSarex, Crosso2}US, Crocidura, JVecfor/u/c, Clihnar- 

 rogaU. The first is also Xearctic, and reaches Central America. 

 In the Ethiopian region is the single peculiar genus MyDSorcx, but 

 Crocidura occurs there also. Bhirina and A'utivsurea: are " Sonoran" 

 in range ; Soriculus Oriental. Crocidura, Anurosorex, and CMmccr- 

 rogale also enter this region. Sorex has teeth tipped with reddish 

 colour, its dental formula being, according to ilr. Woodward's 

 recent researches, I ^ % 3 C ^ Pm -J M :'; = 3 2 or 34. 



As compared with other Insectivores, therefore, the most 

 remarkable fact found throughout the family is the absence of tlie 

 lower canines. In addition to this the genus may be known — 

 CTTS family indeed — by the large size of the first pair of incisors. 

 In the above formula it is possible, thinks ilr. A\^oodward, that 

 there may be errors ; he is not certain whether the supposed 



' Ritsema Bos, Biol. Centralbl. xviii. 1898, p. 6-3. 



