260 



ZOOLOGY. 



tills burrow it constructs a nest of dried grass, in wliicli it 

 lies cnrlcd up in an unconscious state. Peculiar to tlio 

 Western plains is the prairie-dog {Oy7iomys Lndoviciamis; 

 see Frontispiece, on the right side), which I'eprcsents the 

 marmots of the Old World; it is semi-social, and takes in 

 perforce as boarders the owl and rattlesnake, which devour 

 its young. 



Order 3. Insectivora. — In the moles the fore feet are 

 plantigrade, with large claws, and the entire limb is short, 



thick, musculai', and adapted 

 for Ijurrowing in the soil (Fig. 

 298). The shi-ews comjirise the 

 smallest mammals. Nearly all 

 are nocturnal, bui-rowing under 

 the surface, and never seen by 

 day; consequently, their eyes 

 are small, and mostly hid under 

 the fur; while the ears are small 

 and concealed by the hair. 



The shrews are mouse-like, 

 having feet of the normal form, 



Fio. 298.~Bones ot fore-leg of a .,,,.1 ,, l,|,,tr nn^r- Tu niir oom- 

 Mole. 52, the cubital scapula; 53, '"'^ •'' "^'"b ""^'-- -^" *^^'^ ^""' 

 humerus; 54, ulna; 55, radius. jjiq,) gljrcw (SoreX phlfl/rJlimiS, 



Fig. 299), the nose is long, and the tail shorter than the 

 head and body. 



The genuine moles are the charactei'istic forms of the 

 oi'der; the most peculiar being the star-nosed mole, Condy- 

 lura cristdta, which occurs from tlie Atlantic to the Pacific 

 Ocean, while the common mole (Fig. 300) is abundant in 

 the Eastern United States. 



A flying form, with a superficial resemblance to the bat, 

 and with the same habit of slce])ing head downward, hold- 

 ing on by its hind feet, is the Gdleo^jithecns of the East 

 Indies. This singular creature has been jilaccd among the 

 lemurs by some authors. G. volans inhabits Java, Suma- 

 tra, Borneo, and Siam. 



This creature, says Wallace, lias a broad membrane ex- 



