30 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



Hedgehog, skull long and pointed. Eocene and Oligocene epochs, 

 North America. 



A series of skulls of these little animals is shown in the table 

 case. They differ from the true Hedgehogs in many archaic 

 characters and there is no reason to suppose that they wore a 

 prickly coat. The " tritubercular " teeth are a primitive charac- 

 teristic. 



Erixaceid^, or Hedgehogs. Living. 



Quadritubercular molar teeth. Three incisors in upper dentition. 

 Premolars often small, sometim.es reduced in number, the last one 

 molariform. Tibia and fibula united, ulna and radius separate. Skull 

 rather short in the Hedgehog, long and pointed in certain allied East 

 Indian animals. Oligocene to Recent epochs, Europe and America. 



Part of the skull of a true Hedgehog of an extinct genus, 

 Proterix, from the Oligocene of South Dakota, is shown in the 

 table case, besides jaws of the Aliocene genus Galerix from Europe. 



TuPAjiD.^, OR Tree-Shrews. 

 Living. Borneo. 



]\La.croscelid.'E, or Jumpixg-Shrews. 

 Living. Africa. 



SoRiciD.-E, OR Shrews. 

 Living. Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. 



Incisors and premolars reduced in number, the incisors forming 

 a pair of sharp-pointed pincers, molars quadritubercular. No zygo- 

 matic arch. Oligocene to Recent. Europe and North America. 



More than half of the species of Bvmg Insectivora come under 

 this family, but all are of small size, mostly nocturnal, hiding in 

 burrows or beneath leaves or roots during the day. They feed on 

 insects, for which purpose the pmcer-like incisors and the sharp 

 little cusps of the molar teeth are well adapted. Fossil Shrews 

 are found in the Oligocene and later formations of both Europe 

 and North America, but only fragmentary remains have been 

 discovered. A few are on exhibition. 



