﻿Dec, 1895.] 



HISTORY OF EASTERN SHREWS. 



39 



hence recognizable at a glance from tlie external characters alone. 

 The original of his richardsoni, on the other hand, is a much worn sum- 

 mer specimen, the determination of which might be a matter of uncer- 

 tainty were it not for the excellent condition of the teeth and anterior 

 part of the skull, which show it to be unquestionably Sorex fumeus. 



From 1857 to 1890 Sorex fumeus escaped notice. The references to 

 Sorex forsteri and ;S'. richardsoni during this period are based on 

 Baird's statements concerning the species rather than on identification 

 of specimens. In 1890, however, Dobson figured the teeth of an indi- 

 vidual from Lake George, New York. This specimen he identified with 

 De Kay's Otisorex ])latyrMnus^ a totally different animal. 



That this species should have remained until now unnamed is a 

 matter of surprise. Nevertheless, a careful examination of the litera- 

 ture shows that none of the many names proposed for North American 

 Shrews can be applied to it. Of these names it is necessary to consider 

 in the x)resent connection Otisorex platyrMmis De Kay and Sorex platy- 

 rhinchus Linsley only. The former was based on a specimen from 

 Tappan, Rockland County, N. Y. The essential part of the original 

 description is as follows : 



Characteristics : Dark Lrowu, paler beneath. Total length, 4 inches. 



Description : ' * Ears very large, rounded and memhranaceona, subangular 

 on the upper margin, sparsely covered within and without ^ ith long hairs ; * 

 hind feet slender, 0.8 inch long, sparsely covered with light rufous hairs | * * * fur 

 over whole body quite long and thick, ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 inch; * * * teeth 

 minute, tinged with piceous at their tips. Dental formula : Incisors, | ; cheek teeth, 

 |||r=32. " * Color : Dark cinereous, slightly tinged with dusky rufous, ijarticu- 

 larly on the upper part of the muzzle and inferior portion of the neck; beneath, 

 ash gray. 



Length of head and body, 2.5 inches; length of tail, 1.6 inches; length of head, 

 0.9 inch; length of car, 0.2 inch. 



Nothing in this description refers unquestionably to the Shrew under 

 consideration. It is true that the statements concerning the color might 

 refer to this animal. Since, however, they apply with equal pertinence 

 to the majority of known species of Sorex, they can not be considered of 

 any diagnostic value. The stress that De Kay lays on the large ears of 

 his specimen has led to the belief that he had in hand the larger of the 

 two common species of Sorex, an animal with actually though not pro- 

 portionally larger ears than S.personatus. The measurement — length of 

 ear, 2 lines (4 mm.) — was made no one knows how. As it stands it is 

 about 2 mm, shorter than the ear of S. fumeus measured (in the dry skin) 

 from the meatus, while it exceeds by a full millimeter, or 33 percent, the 

 height of ear above crown in dried specimens of the same animal. 



On the other hand, Otisorex platyrhinns agrees in size with Sorex per- 

 sonatus. " Total length, finches" (100 mm.), and 'length of tail, 1.6 

 inches" (38 mm.), are statements which apply to the latter species and 

 not to S. fumeus.^ The measurement of the hind foot, "8 lines" 



1 Ten specimens of S. jyersonatus average: Length, 101 mm.; tail, 38.8 mm.: while 

 a like number of S. fumeus average : Length, 119 mm. ; tail, 44.9 mm. 



