160 THE SLEPEZ. 
SLEPEZ, is a native of Southern Russia, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and 
Syria. Like the ordinary mole, to which it bears no little external resem- 
blance, it passes its existence in the subterranean tunnels which it excavates 
by means of its powerful claws. As it but seldom ventures into the light 
of day, it stands in no need of visual organs, but is compensated for their 
absence by the very large development of the organs of hearing. The place 
of the eyes is taken by two little round black specks, which lie under the fur- 
covered skin, so that even if they were sensitive to light, they would be 
unable to perceive the brightest rays of the noontide sun. The ears, however, 
SLEPEZ MOLE RAT.—(Sfalax Typhlus.) 
are extremely large, and the hearing is exceedingly sensitive, so that the 
animal receives earlier information of danger through its sense of hearing 
than through that of sight, which latter faculty would indeed be useless in its 
dark abode. Sometimes the Slepez leaves the burrow and lies basking in 
the warm sunshine, but upon the least alarm or unexpected sound it plunges 
into its tunnel, and will not again make its appearance until it feels perfectly 
assured of safety. 
The general colour of the Slepez is a very light brown, slightly tinged with 
red in some parts, and fading into an ashen grey in others. Its total length 
is about ten or eleven inches, and the tail is wanting. The head is broad, 
flat on the crown, and terminates abruptly at the muzzle. The feet are short, 
and the claws small. 
THE incisor teeth of the COAST RaT or SAND MOLE are even larger in 
proportion than those of the preceding animal, and those of the upper jaw are 
marked by a groove running throughout their length. The fore-feet are 
furnished with long and powerful claws, that of the second toe being the 
largest. The eyes are exceedingly small, the external ears are wanting, and 
the tail is extremely short. 
